JGSDF Aibano Airfield

Military operational re-prioritization. The site was not 'closed' in the traditional sense but rather its formal airfield/heliport designation was retired. The parent facility, the JGSDF Aibano Training Area, is primarily focused on large-scale, live-fire exercises for ground forces, including artillery and armored vehicles. A permanently designated airfield was likely deemed unnecessary, with helicopter operations transitioning to using various non-designated landing zones within the vast training area as required by exercises.

The site of the former airfield is an active and integral part of the JGSDF Aibano Training Area. This area is one of the most important training grounds for the JGSDF's Middle Army. While the official 'JP-0887' designation is no longer in use, the open, grassy area is still frequently used as a helicopter landing zone (HLZ) by JGSDF helicopters supporting the extensive ground force exercises conducted there. The area is under strict military control and is not accessible to the public.

The airfield was located within the JGSDF Aibano Training Area (饗庭野演習場, Aibano Enshūjō), a military site with history dating back to its establishment by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1908. During its active period as a designated airfield, it would have supported military aviation operations for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Operations primarily consisted of helicopters (such as the UH-1 Iroquois and OH-6 Cayuse) and potentially STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft for liaison, troop transport, observation, and medical evacuation in support of the ground units training at the facility.

There are no known plans or prospects to reopen a formal, designated airfield at this location. Its current function as a core component of a critical live-fire military training area is its established and long-term purpose. Re-establishing a permanent airfield would be incompatible with its primary mission of supporting ground force exercises.