Bell-Boeing V-22 Ospreys to join Japan-U.S. anti-disaster drill planned in February.

According to Xinhua, U.S. MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircrafts will be involve in a Japan-U.S. anti-disaster drill to be held in southwestern Japan in February, said Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Tuesday.

The joint drill eyes maintaining effective disaster relief measures in the event of a major quake originating in the Nankai Trough, a huge submarine fault line south of two of Japan's main islands, Honshu and Shikoku, local media quoted the minister as saying.

The minister added that the drill also aims at enhancing cooperation between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces.

The Ospreys will fly to the Ground Self-Defense Force's Kochi garrisons in Konan, the Air Self-Defense Force's Tosashimizu air base in Tosashimizu, both in Kochi Prefecture, and the ASDF's Tsuiki air base in Chikujo, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan's Kyodo News said.

The drill was planned for last October, but was postponed due to typhoon

A total of 24 U.S. military Ospreys are deployed in Japan's southernmost island prefecture of Okinawa. Local residents have opposed the deployment for long due to safety concerns.