Accidents not uncommon

The US military has more than 50,000 troops stationed in Japan, with more than 18,000 of them in the US Marine Corps, and accidents happen from time to time.

In November, a US navy fighter jet crashed into the sea off the southern island of Okinawa and its two crew members ejected and were rescued.

Last December, a window fell from a US helicopter onto a school sports field in Okinawa and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis even apologized to then-his counterpart Itsunori Onodera after several such incidents occurred.

Japan Times reported that the country "has paid about $3.4 million over the past decade in compensation as a result of accidents caused by US military personnel or civilian employees under the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement".