General Shinichi Aoki took over as the successor to General Yuichi Sakamoto, the division commander of the 8th Division at the time. Sakamoto died in an accident in which a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter disappeared near Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture.
Aoki: "I will do my utmost to rebuild the system and carry on the aspirations of General Sakamoto" He added, "The security environment is in a situation where we cannot let go of our minds even for a moment"