Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru has told the Diet that he has asked the US military to ground Osprey transport aircraft until it can confirm they are safe to operate.

Kihara was reporting to the Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday on the crash the previous day of a CV-22 Osprey aircraft off Yakushima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. The US Air Force plane is stationed at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.

He said the accident is regrettable as it causes great anxiety among local residents.

Kihara also said that in addition to requesting a suspension of flights, except for search and research missions, he has asked the US military to provide information about the accident as soon as possible.

The defense minister also said he was initially told by US authorities that the aircraft had made a "forced water landing," but that they later described it as a "crash."

The US Marine Corps and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force also operate Ospreys in Japan.

The head of the Defense Ministry's Bureau of Local Cooperation, Yamato Taro, said Ospreys used by the Ground Self-Defense Force will be grounded for the time being.