Two F-35 stealth fighter jets from the US military were forced to perform an emergency landing at Matsuyama Airport (MYJ) in Japan’s Ehime Prefecture on February 5, 2025.
Local news outlet Ehime News reported that the incident occurred at around 12:03 local time, and said the reason for the unplanned landing was due to shortage in fuel.
Although the two fighter jets were able to land safely and no injuries or fatalities were reported, the incident caused a commercial flight, ANA flight 1639 flying from Osaka’s Itami Airport (ITM) to Matsuyama Airport, to be delayed as it was forced to remain in a holding pattern for 13 minutes before landing.
The airport resumed operations shortly, and no flight had to be cancelled or delayed further.
In October 2024, a MH-60R Seahawk helicopter belonging to the US Military also made an emergency landing on a beach in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture with no reports of injury or damage.
US forces have been stationed in Japan since 1960 due to the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. The United States Forces Japan (USFJ), which is headquartered at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, manages the US military’s presence in Japan.