TOKYO - A Self-Defence Force training aircraft crashed after taking off from a military base in central Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Wednesday, declining to elaborate further.

A defence ministry spokesperson said it is collecting information.

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Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing multiple defence ministry officials, reported that the T-4 training aircraft disappeared from radar while flying near Inuyama city in Aichi prefecture.

A representative from the Inuyama city fire department told Reuters that the aircraft likely carried two people on board.

The local fire department received a call reporting that something resembling an aircraft had crashed into a pond in Inuyama shortly after 3 pm (0600 GMT), according to NHK.