Japan expects U.S. to halt CH-53 helicopters for "indefinite period"

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Friday he expects the U.S. military to suspend flights of its CH-53E transport helicopters in Okinawa for an "indefinite period," after one recently crash-landed, raising safety concerns among local residents.The view seemingly conflicts with the announcement by the U.S. Marine Corps in Japan the previous day that it directed a "96-hour operational pause" for all CH-53E helicopters stationed in the southern island prefecture to ensure they are safe to operateBut Onodera emphasized that he had agreed with the deputy commander of U.S. Forces Ja…READ FULL ARTICLE