During a night flight over the city of Yanagawa in Fukuoka Prefecture, pilots of two helicopters assigned to the Metabaru ground self-defense forces base in Saga Prefecture were blinded by a laser beam, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
There were reportedly 19 people on board the UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters at the time. The night flight was part of the exercises that took place at the Kirishima training ground.
An investigation was launched on suspicion of attempting to damage professional activities, the broadcaster said, adding that none of the soldiers on the helicopters were hurt.
A similar case occurred in 2019 when an elderly Japanese man tried to blind pilots of US air force deployed near Tokyo.