British F-35 fighter jet makes emergency landing in Japan

10 August 2025 , 11:24

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British F-35 fighter jet makes emergency landing in Japan

Emergency landing of fighter jet affects some flights at Kagoshima Airport

On Sunday, August 10, a British F-35 stealth fighter made an emergency landing in Japan, Kyodo News reported.

The fighter landed at Kagoshima Airport in southwestern Japan. Preliminary reports indicate the incident was caused by a technical malfunction.

Airport officials told reporters that the incident affected some commercial airline flights, as the runway was closed for about 20 minutes after the event, which occurred around 11:30 a.m.

No information has been reported about any injuries. The outlet noted that from August 4 until the following Tuesday, British forces are conducting joint exercises with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. armed forces. The UK has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the western Pacific.

According to the report, training flights of the U.S.-made aircraft have already drawn negative reactions from local residents unhappy about the noise. Initially, the exercises were planned to take place on an uninhabited island in Kagoshima Prefecture after the completion of a Self-Defense Force base with runways.

However, in February, Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that due to construction delays, the training location had been moved to Nyutabaru Base.

Sophia Martinez

World Affairs Correspondent