The US military said Monday that an Air Force F-15C fighter jet has crashed in waters south of Okinawa in southern Japan, and that the pilot ejected successfully.
The Air Force said in a statement that the pilot has been rescued. Japan's public broadcaster NHK said he had a broken leg.
The cause of the 6:30 a.m. crash is under investigation.
The F-15C from the Air Force's Kadena Air Base in Okinawa was on a routine training mission.
The US has a heavy military presence in Okinawa that has been the source of friction with the local government and some residents. A series of emergency landings and parts falling from US military aircraft have highlighted safety concerns.
About half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are stationed on the southern island.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is moving ahead with a contentious plan to relocate the US Marines' Futenma airbase from an urban area in central Okinawa to the less populated Henoko district of Nago city in the island's north.
