FILE - In this June 21, 2007 file photo, a U.S. Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier fighter jet from VX-9 Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is seen on a training flight from the cockpit of an F-16 based at the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing over California. A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier fighter jet, the same type shown in this photo, crashed Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, into the ocean off the coast of southwestern Okinawa in Japan, but the pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was rescued. The U.S. military in Camp Butler in Okinawa said the cause of the crash is still under investigation. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) (The Associated Press)
TOKYO – A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier fighter jet has crashed into the ocean off the coast of southwestern Okinawa in Japan, but the pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was rescued.
The U.S. military in Camp Butler in Okinawa said the cause of Thursday's crash is still under investigation.
The aircraft had been assigned to Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan under a bilateral security agreement.
Other details were not immediately available. The Japanese Coast Guard also confirmed the crash, which was about 153 kilometers (95 miles) east of the main Okinawan island.
People in Okinawa have complained about crashes, noise from aircraft and crime by service members for years, and some say they are unfairly burdened with housing U.S. troops.
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