米軍、嘉手納でパラシュート訓練＝要請無視、河野防衛相「同盟に影響」

　米軍は２９日午後６時４０分から、沖縄県の嘉手納基地（嘉手納町など）でパラシュート降下訓練を行った。嘉手納での実施は今年に入り４回目。パラシュート降下訓練は原則、伊江島補助飛行場（同県伊江村）で実施することが１９９６年の日米合意で確認されており、２９日も河野太郎防衛相が「合意違反だ」と中止を申し入れたばかり。米側は要請を無視して訓練を強行した形だ。
　河野氏は同日夜、防衛省で記者団に、米側から訓練実施について十分な説明がないとし、「（日米）同盟に影響を与えかねない、大変遺憾な出来事だ」と述べた。「沖縄の皆さまに大変申し訳なく思っている」とも語り、エスパー米国防長官に協議を求める意向を示した。（2019/10/29-21:26）

The U.S. military conducted parachute training at its Kadena Air Base in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa on Tuesday, despite the Japanese government's call for the exercise to be canceled.
   The parachute training, which was carried out from 6:40 p.m. (9:40 a.m. GMT), was the fourth of its kind at the base this year.
   An agreement reached by the Japanese and U.S. governments in 1996 calls for the U.S. military to hold parachute training at the U.S. Marine Corps' auxiliary airfield in the island village of Ie in the prefecture in principle.
   Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono requested the U.S. side the same day to cancel the drill, saying that it would go against the agreement.
   On Tuesday night, Kono told reporters that the U.S. side had failed to provide a sufficient explanation about the drill. "This was an extremely regrettable development that may affect the Japan-U.S. alliance," he said.