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The Yomiuri Shimbun
Osprey aircraft prove valuable in earthquake relief operations
自衛隊熊本支援　オスプレイの活用は効果的だ

The Self-Defense Forces have mobilized more than 20,000 personnel to carry out rescue and relief operations for victims of the Kumamoto Earthquake.
　熊本地震で、自衛隊が２万人以上を動員し、被災者の救助・支援活動を展開している。

The operations are difficult, and rescuers face dangers from secondary disasters such as aftershocks and landslides caused by heavy rains. But we know they will make their utmost efforts as they engage in the operations.
　余震や大雨による土砂崩れなど二次災害の危険が伴う困難な任務だが、全力で取り組んでもらいたい。

The Defense Ministry has set up a joint task force of the Air, Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces. The task force is based at the GSDF’s Western Army Headquarters in Kumamoto. About 120 aircraft, mainly helicopters, and 10 transport and other vessels have been dispatched to the task force.
　防衛省は、陸海空３自衛隊の統合部隊を編成した。熊本市の陸自西部方面総監部に司令部を置き、ヘリコプターなど約１２０機、輸送艦など約１０隻も派遣した。

The SDF personnel engage in such activities as searching for missing people, transporting the sick and injured and providing meals and water. SDF personnel are transporting food and daily necessities directly to evacuation centers and other locations to cover the lack of manpower at local governments.
　不明者の捜索や、患者の輸送、給食・給水などに従事している。食料や生活物資の輸送では、被災自治体の要員不足を補うため、避難所などへの直接搬送も担う。

The SDF is a self-sustaining organization, providing its own food, clothing and shelter. Due to lessons learned from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the SDF has enhanced telecommunication and other equipment and strengthened cooperation with local governments through disaster-response drills.
　自衛隊は、衣食住を自力で賄える自己完結型組織だ。東日本大震災の教訓を踏まえ、通信機器などを充実させ、防災訓練を通じて自治体との連携も強化してきた。

In the wake of the latest disaster, the SDF dispatched liaison personnel to relevant local governments, including the Kumamoto and Oita prefectural governments, and this action has facilitated the relief operation. To prevent duplication of efforts with local governments and police, proper sharing of tasks is crucial.
　今回、熊本、大分両県など関係自治体に連絡調整要員を派遣したことで、支援活動を円滑にしている。自治体や警察などとの業務の重複を避けるためには、適切な役割分担が欠かせない。

U.S. cooperation appreciated

We would like to acknowledge the unreserved cooperation of U.S. forces, which follows Operation Tomodachi in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku disaster.
　東日本大震災時の「トモダチ作戦」に続き、米軍が全面的に協力していることに感謝したい。

Based on the Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation Guidelines — which were renewed in April last year — the SDF and the U.S. forces have set up a joint coordination center at the SDF’s task headquarters. The coordination center is now serving as the control tower of rescue operations.
　昨年４月策定の新たな日米防衛協力指針（ガイドライン）に基づき、統合部隊司令部に設置された自衛隊と在日米軍の共同調整所が司令塔となっている。

The U.S. forces dispatched four Osprey transport aircraft belonging to Futenma Air Station. The Ospreys shuttled back and forth to carry drinking water, food, blankets, portable toilets and other supplies to Kumamoto Prefecture’s Minami-Aso, a village isolated due to the collapse of a national highway, playing a very important role in sustaining the daily lives of many evacuees.
　米軍は、普天間飛行場所属の輸送機オスプレイ４機を投入した。国道の崩落で孤立した熊本県南阿蘇村に飲料水・食料、毛布、簡易トイレなどをピストン輸送し、多くの被災者の生活を維持するうえで、重要な役割を果たした。

Compared to conventional transport helicopters, the Osprey has great superiority in its maximum speed, payload and range. Also, it has been pointed out that the Osprey’s ability to operate in mountainous areas because of its ability to take off and land vertically makes it useful for disaster response.
　オスプレイは、従来の輸送ヘリより最大速度、搭載量、航続距離のいずれも大幅に優れている。垂直離着陸の機能を有し、山間部でも対応可能なため、かねて災害派遣に有効と指摘されていた。

The opposition parties have criticized the use of Ospreys in relief operations — an act totally incomprehensible. Saying there are concerns over the safety of the aircraft, former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the Democratic Party (Minshinto) said: “People who are taking refuge are worried. We thank the U.S. Forces for their cooperation, but we want them to stop.”
　理解できないのは、野党内に、オスプレイ活用に批判があることだ。民進党の原口一博・元総務相は安全性に懸念があるとして「避難している皆さんも不安に思っている。米軍の協力はありがたいが、やめてほしい」と発言した。

However, the risk of serious accidents involving the Osprey is lower than that of other U.S. military aircraft. It has a successful track record in relief operations after a typhoon in the Philippines and the recent earthquake in Nepal. If Ospreys had not been used for the latest earthquake, provision of supplies could have been stalled, creating greater anxiety for the disaster victims.
　だが、他の米軍機に比べても重大事故率は低く、フィリピンの大型台風やネパール地震で支援実績もある。活用しなければ、物資供給が滞り、被災者のより大きな不安を招いたのではないか。

The Ground Self-Defense Force plans to introduce 17 Ospreys by fiscal 2018 to be based in Saga Airport. The conjecture that the use of Ospreys in the Kumamoto relief operation may have been an effort to smooth the way for the Saga deployment should be rejected.
　陸自も２０１８年度までに、オスプレイ１７機を導入する予定で、佐賀空港への配備を目指す。その受け入れの地ならしではないかとの臆測も否定しておきたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 23, 2016)