A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter with 10 personnel aboard went missing in waters off the southern prefecture of Okinawa on Thursday, with what could be parts of the chopper later found in the sea. The helicopter belongs to a unit under the GSDF's 8th Division based in Kumamoto Prefecture, which is in charge of the defense of the southwestern main island of Kyushu. As of March last year, the GSDF had 40 UH-60JA helicopters, which can carry up to 14 people and are often used for transporting emergency patients from remote islands and areas that have suffered a natural disaster