Council members from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the eight municipalities surrounding Yokota Air Base, Japan, toured the installation on April 30, 2026. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Council members from eight surrounding municipalities and the Tokyo Municipal Government recently toured this airlift hub in western Tokyo together for the first time.
The 2½-hour tour on Thursday provided local government officials an opportunity to better understand Yokota’s mission and capabilities and a chance to discuss other topics, including aircraft noise and disaster preparation, councilors said.
“This is the first time we’ve invited all eight neighboring townships together at one time,” Col. Richard McElhaney, commander of the base and the 374th Airlift Wing, said during the tour Thursday. “We hope you got to see the base and maybe understand what we do here a little bit better.”
In addition to members of the metropolitan government, the group of 42 included councilors from Fussa, Hamura, Akishima, Tachikawa, Musashimurayama, Inagi and Tama cities and Mizuho town.
Stars and Stripes covered part of the tour, along with Japanese media, but ground rules set by base representatives did not permit reporters to question the councilors during the event.
Council members from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the eight municipalities surrounding Yokota Air Base, Japan, gather around the cargo ramp of a C-130J Super Hercules as Air Force Capt. Sarah Cathey explains the capabilities of the aircraft during a guided tour on April 30, 2026. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
The council members had close-up tours of a CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor and C-130J Super Hercules airlifter by their respective crews, who explained both aircraft’s capabilities and answered questions with a translator’s assistance.
The Super Hercules, flown by the 36th Airlift Squadron, is the tactical workhorse of the service, carrying troops, equipment and supplies to austere airfields.
“It was a good opportunity,” Atsushi Matsuoka, a metropolitan government council member, told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.
He said some councilors expressed a desire for more interaction with the base directly.
Hiroyuki Nakayama, another Tokyo councilman, shared the experience on his Instagram page Friday and said he learned more about Yokota’s mission.
He also shared his experience learning about and seeing the Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in person.
“While deepening our understanding of its high maneuverability and ability to handle special missions, we were also struck by the high level of interest in its operations within the region,” he wrote on his Instagram page Friday.
Council members from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the eight municipalities surrounding Yokota Air Base pose for a photo with Air Force Col. Richard McElhaney on Yokota Air Base on April 30, 2026. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
The Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies with the speed of an airplane. Its mission is to insert, retrieve and resupply special operations forces. A handful of the aircraft are stationed at Yokota with the Air Force’s 21st Special Operations Squadron.
“On the other hand, we were reminded of the challenges facing the community, such as noise from Ospreys and other military aircraft, and past incidents like parachutes falling into residential areas,” Nakayama said on his Instagram.
The Osprey generated interest in local communities ahead of its arrival at Yokota in April 2018. Hundreds protested the aircraft presence at the time, and homes near the base still sometimes vibrate as it passes overhead.
In November, a U.S. Army paratrooper made an unplanned landing in Hamura after drifting off course during a training jump. The following month, part of a parachute discarded during a trooper’s training jump drifted off base and landed atop a children’s center in Fussa city.
No damage or injuries resulted. City officials lodged complaints with the base of potentially hazardous situations in both cases.
Matsuoka and Nakayama said they appreciated open communication with McElhaney and valued the opportunity to receive direct answers to their questions.
“I think this should continue if there is a need on both sides,” Matsuoka said.
AloJapan.com