US military airlifts bottled water to earthquake-stricken island in southern Japan

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — U.S. forces have begun flying emergency supplies to an earthquake-stricken Japanese island, delivering tons of bottled water to communities contending with damaged infrastructure, prolonged outages and extreme summer heat.

A Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules delivered 16 tons of bottled water Sunday from Yokota in western Tokyo to the Vice Camp Takayubara, a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto prefecture, according to U.S. and Japanese officials.

An Air Force C-130J Super Hercules with the 36th Airlift Squadron followed Monday with another water shipment, Air Force Col. John Severns, a U.S. Forces Japan spokesman, said Monday at Yokota. Additional flights are slated for Tuesday.

The relief effort follows the July 28 magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kyushu, killing 39 people, injuring 170 and damaging buildings, roads and bridges. Some affected communities have endured extended power and water outages as temperatures climbed above 104 degrees on some days.

A C-130J Super Hercules with the 36th Airlift Squadron waits to be loaded with earthquake-relief supplies at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Aug. 10, 2026. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

At Yokota on Monday, airmen worked on the flight line to prepare pallets of bottled water for transport south.

Tech. Sgt. Joshua Moritz, a section chief with the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron, said he anticipated the call after watching reports of the earthquake.

“My first thought was, ‘I need to get my team ready,’” he said.

Moritz said Yokota personnel with aircraft-loading expertise from several units were called in Saturday to prepare for the mission. Airmen from the base have already supported disaster responses on Guam and the Philippines this year, he added.

The Marine aircraft involved in Sunday’s mission belongs to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, near Hiroshima.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass and USFJ commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost visited Kumamoto on Sunday to observe the relief effort.

“In times of crisis or calamity, the United States and Japan have always come to each other’s assistance,” Glass said in a statement Monday. “And we didn’t hesitate for a moment when our closest friend and ally asked for help this time.”

Airmen load bottled water onto a C-130J Super Hercules at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Aug. 10, 2026. The water is bound for earthquake victims in Kumamoto, Japan. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

Glass pointed to previous disaster assistance between the two countries, including Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. response to Japan’s 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and Japanese aid following wildfires in Maui in 2023 and in Los Angeles last year.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Sunday that the U.S. response demonstrated the strength of the alliance and the value of routine cooperation between the two militaries.

“The primary objective of this support from the U.S. forces is to protect the lives and livelihoods of those affected by the disaster,” he told reporters Sunday at Naval Air Facility Atsugi near Tokyo.

Yokota has played a central role in previous U.S. disaster-relief missions in Japan. The airlift hub supported Operation Tomodachi and provided aircraft for relief efforts after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.