According to officials, objects appearing to be aircraft parts were spotted in the area, indicating a possible crash.

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on Thursday afternoon while on a reconnaissance mission north of Miyako island. Debris believed to be aircraft parts was spotted in the area, about 1,800km (1,120 miles) southwest of Tokyo, according to Yasunori Morishita, the head of the Ground Self Defense Force. Morishita also stated that the helicopter was stationed at a key regional army base in Kumamoto prefecture on the southern main island of Kyushu, and one of its 10 crew members is the division commander, Yuichi Sakamoto.

Japan has been aggressively building up its defense capability in southwestern Japan in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including Taiwan.

In the past four days, at least three Chinese warships have sailed past the island of Miyakojima, which has hosted GSDF mobile anti-ship missile launchers since 2019. Chinese navy vessels traveling to the Pacific Ocean from the East China Sea often pass close to Miyakojima, and it is not clear if the missing helicopter was involved in tracking any Chinese military activity.

The government’s priority now is to rescue those on board. Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, stated that “saving lives is our utmost priority” while briefly addressing reporters. The government is using the vessels and aircraft of the maritime and air self-defense forces, as well as coastguard patrol ships to continue search and rescue operations. Japanese coast guard ships also found traces of oil that may be related to the missing helicopter, but officials have declined to confirm the report.