Two crew are missing after the T-4 training aircraft operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed after taking off from Komaki Air Base, in the central Japanese prefecture of Aichi, officials said.

Japan’s air force chief has confirmed the deaths of two service members whose training aircraft crashed last week

In April, 2024, two SH-60K navy reconnaissance helicopters crashed during nighttime anti-submarine training near Torishima island, about 600 kilometers south of Tokyo, leaving all eight crewmembers dead. In 2023, an army UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter on a reconnaissance mission crashed off a southern island of Miyako, with the loss of 10 crew.

Officials say Japan's air force has begun emergency safety inspections on all of its nearly 200 military training aircraft after one of them crashed minutes after takeoff.

Japan's air force confirms the deaths of two members in a training aircraft crash. The T-4 plane went down shortly after taking off from Komaki Air Base. As investigations continue, the crash raises concerns amidst Japan's military buildup efforts and questions prioritization of safety in defense spending.