OSAKA, Japan - A series of joint military drills between the US Marine Corps and Japan's Self-Defense Forces using the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft started on Tuesday morning at an SDF training field in the western Japanese prefecture of Shiga, the country's Kyodo News Agency reported.

The joint exercises is allegedly organized to reduce the burden of US military bases in Okinawa, southern Japan, where opposition to the deployment of the Osprey remains strong because of its safety record, which includes crashes overseas, including a fatal accident.