The US military will resume aerial refueling exercises for Osprey aircraft stationed in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture from Friday, less than a month after the crash-landing of one of the tilt-rotor aircraft in nearby waters, Japan's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

    The ministry said it has confirmed that the United States has taken all measures to prevent a recurrence of the Dec. 13 accident that occurred during a refueling drill.

    But the announcement has angered the local government which continues to express concerns about the aircraft's safety, Japan's News Agency (Kyodo) reported. "Has (the Japanese government) thought about the feelings of the people in this prefecture? We want the central government to not just agree to everything that the US military says, but see this issue with our eyes," Okinawa Deputy Gov. Mitsuo Ageda told reporters.

Source: QNA