A US Osprey crashed off Japan in late November, killing all eight people on board and prompting the decision the following month to ground the aircraft, which has been involved in a series of accidents in recent years.

"We visually confirmed from this (city hall) building that an Osprey was flying at 8:54 am (23:54 GMT Wednesday)," an official from Ginowan, which hosts the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, told AFP.