Joto Airfield

Military Demilitarization and Urban Redevelopment. The airfield was part of the Imperial Japanese Army's Joto Training Ground (Jōtō Renpeijō), which was abolished following Japan's surrender in World War II. The land was requisitioned by Allied occupation forces and subsequently redeveloped for civilian use to accommodate the post-war reconstruction and expansion of Osaka.

The former site of Joto Airfield has been completely redeveloped and bears no physical trace of its aviation history. The area is now occupied by the modern Osaka Business Park (OBP), a major commercial district filled with skyscrapers, corporate headquarters, hotels (like the Hotel New Otani Osaka), and cultural venues. The land also encompasses parts of the public Osaka Castle Park. The provided coordinates point directly into the heart of this dense urban development.

Joto Airfield was a pioneering and historically significant military airfield. Established on the vast Joto Training Ground east of Osaka Castle, it was the site of the first successful airplane flight in the Kansai region, conducted by Captain Tokugawa Yoshitoshi in 1911. Throughout its operational history, it served as a key facility for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. Its primary operations included pilot training, aircraft testing, and supporting the massive Osaka Army Arsenal located nearby. It was never a commercial or public airport and handled exclusively military activities. The ICAO code 'JP-1936' is a non-standard, likely database-specific identifier, not an official ICAO designation from the period.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Joto Airfield. The site is now one of Osaka's most valuable and densely developed urban centers, making the re-establishment of an airport physically, logistically, and economically impossible.