Two confirmed dead following Japanese training plane crash

The cause of the crash remains under investigation

Firefighters search the area where a Japan Air Self-Defense Force training plane T-4 crashed, at Lake Iruka in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture (JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)

Two Japanese air force members died shortly after their training aircraft crashed last week, the air force chief confirmed on Thursday.

The T-4 plane, carrying two crew members, crashed into a reservoir minutes after taking off from Komaki Air Base in central Japan's Aichi prefecture on May 14.

Autopsies revealed both crew members, aged 29 and 31, died just two minutes after takeoff, according to Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, prompting the grounding of all 196 remaining T-4 training aircraft for emergency inspections.

Witnesses at the time told the NHK national broadcaster that they heard a loud noise like thunder, followed by sirens of police cars and fire engines.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani previously said the T-4 plane, which operates out of Nyutabaru air base, in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, was heading back to its home base on an unspecified mission.

Japan Air Self-Defense Force has grounded its training plane T-4 as part of an investigation (AFP via Getty Images)

Officials previously searched an area near the Iruka pond reservoir, approximately six miles northeast of the base and near the city of Inuyama, where debris from the aircraft has been discovered.

This incident is the latest in a string of defense aircraft accidents in recent years, coinciding with Japan's accelerated military buildup in response to China's growing regional influence.

Japan's doubled defense spending has raised concerns that weapons procurement may be prioritised over safety measures.