TOP > What's up around the Prime Minister > April, 2007

Prime Minister Attends the Memorial Service for SDF Members who Lost their Lives while on a Disaster Relief Mission Sunday, April 15, 2007 JAPANESE Photograph courtesy of the Ministry of Defense Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended an official Self-Defense Forces (SDF) memorial service in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, dedicated to the SDF members who lost their lives in a plane crash accident during a disaster relief mission. On March 30, a SDF helicopter departed from Naha for Tokunoshima Island to transport by air an emergency patient upon a dispatch request for disaster relief issued by the Governor of Kagoshima Prefecture. The four air squadron members lost their lives as the helicopter crashed during the operation in extremely harsh weather conditions on the nighttime flight. Attending the official memorial service of the four members, Prime Minister Abe prayed for their souls, paying respect to their dedication in his heartfelt words, "As the Commander-in-Chief of the SDF, I am utterly aggrieved at having lost these four men, who demonstrated the pride and responsibility of SDF members through their firmly-held sense of mission to save patients. It is the responsibility of each of us to advance upon their noble devotion and inherit their will to protect our people and land."