US military helicopters have been repeatedly spotted flying at low altitudes over Tokyo, passing between skyscrapers and breaching Japanese aviation regulations, Mainichi Shimbun reported.
According to a six-month-long investigation conducted by the outlet from July 2020, US helicopters belonging to the US forces passed approximately 200 metres over Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo at least once, which is one of the world's busiest train stations.
The investigation found that US forces broke regulations for Japanese aircraft under Japan's Civil Aeronautics Act at least 12 times, flying below the minimum safety altitude in densely populated areas of 300 meters above the upper edge of the highest obstacle within a 600-meter radius of the aircraft.
The helicopters also suspected to have breached aviation law standards at least five times, since Japan's aviation law adopts the same standard as the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The standard has not been applied, however, to US forces in Japan due to a provisions law based on the 1952 Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement.
The helicopters making the flights in question are reported to be US Army Black Hawks, with the majority of them coming from Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, where multiple US military bases are situated.
According to US Forces Japan, "all flights conducted by US Forces are either mission-essential or for training and readiness requirements."
However, the Status of US Forces Agreement Division of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they would like “to check the situation with US forces."
This is not the first time American aircraft have violated laws while flying over Japan. In April 2018 a US F-16 fighter jet flew at ultra low altitude over Aomori and Iwate prefectures. US officials back then provided a de facto apology following the incident, Mainichi Shimbun says.
Another scandal involving US forces happened in February the same year when another F-16 dumped two fuel tanks into a lake near 10 fishing boats in northern Japan, creating a fuel slick.
In January 2018 Japan said that then-US defence chief Jim Mattis apologised for another two incidents involving US military choppers after one of them conducted an emergency landing on the grounds of a hotel and another made an emergency landing on a beach on Okinawa Island.