1st LD Writethru: Window from U.S. military chopper likely fell onto school in Japan's Okinawa

TOKYO, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces in Okinawa said on Wednesday that a window fell from a military chopper, according to prefectural officials in Japan's southernmost prefecture.

Local authorities confirmed that an object fell from the chopper and onto the grounds of an elementary school in Ginowan City, Okinawa.

Prefectural authorities said they were notified by the U.S. forces in Okinawa that a window had fallen from a CH-53E transport helicopter.

An object measuring 1-meter in diameter reportedly fell onto the Futenma Second Elementary School grounds in Ginowan, at around 10:15 a.m. local time (0115 GMT).

Teachers at the school said that around 30 children from the 4th grade were on the school grounds taking a physical education lesson at the time the object fell.

The school said that one child sustained slight injuries as a result of the falling object.

The Futenma Second Elementary School is located on the north side of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The Futenma base is central to an ongoing feud between the central government of Japan and local Okinawan government officials and citizens about its planned relocation to a coastal area within Okinawa.

Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan, yet represents just a tiny percentage of Japan's land mass.

Anti-U.S. sentiment has been rising on the subtropical island amid rising instances of U.S. base-linked crimes, noise, pollution and military accidents.

Local police and investigators in collaboration with the U.S. Military and regional Defense Bureau were investigating the detailed information related to the accident, authorities said Wednesday. Enditem