Aerobatic Team Flies over Yamagata to Pray for Reconstruction

Yamagata, May 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team Sunday flew over the northeastern Japan city of Yamagata to offer prayers for the reconstruction of areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and also for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. The exhibition flight was held as part of the Tohoku Kizuna Festival, which is themed on disaster reconstruction and wishes for the repose of disaster victims' souls. The Tohoku northeastern region was seriously damaged by the 2011 disaster. It was Blue Impulse's first exhibition flight over the city of Yamagata in seven years, according to the Air SDF's Matsushima base in the city of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Four aircraft flew in various formations for about 15 minutes. People gathered at a square in the central part of the city to watch the exhibition flight roared with pleasure when the aircraft flew at low attitude with blaring engine sounds. Many used their smartphones to record the flight. "I saw Blue Impulse for the first time and was touched by the team's powerful flight," said Haruka Suzuki, a 17-year-old high school student from the city of Tendo in Yamagata Prefecture. "Although I was feeling droopy because of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the prefecture, watching the flight made me feel cheerful." END