TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese air force plane with six people aboard went missing on Wednesday (April 6), the Defence Ministry announced, and a search was under way in mountainous terrain.

The U-125 aircraft left a base in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu island in south-western Japan in the early afternoon, said Mr Yoshiyuki Sugiyama, head of the Air Self-Defense Force.

The small jet "disappeared from the radar", Mr Sugiyama told a press briefing.

Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of helicopters searching forest-covered mountains for the aircraft, while military and emergency vehicles rushed towards the area.