JAPAN - The head of the Japan Coast Guard's regional headquarters in Hiroshima and his deputy will be dismissed for hiding information related to last month's fatal helicopter crash, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday.

Toshihiro Hayashi, commander of the 6th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, and his deputy, Kiyoshi Nakamura, will be dismissed from their posts effective Friday.

JCG Commandant Hisayasu Suzuki was instructed by Maehara to restructure the agency, taking into consideration the seriousness of the deadly incident and the fact that important information - that the helicopter's mission included demonstration flights - was concealed, Maehara said in a press conference after the day's regular Cabinet meeting.

The Akizuru, which belonged to the Hiroshima Air Station of the 6th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, crashed with five crew on board into the Seto Inland Sea on Aug. 18 after its landing skids apparently hit power lines connecting small islands off Kagawa Prefecture. All five died in the crash.

According to the JCG, the Hiroshima base suspended helicopter flights immediately after the accident. When necessary, helicopters have been mobilized from three other air stations, including a base in Fukuoka.

"The situation has been hampering the regional headquarters' operations," Maehara said. "The headquarters needs to be reformed to ensure safety in future operations."

After the accident, the regional headquarters intentionally and systematically concealed information. When the first press conference was held regarding the accident on Aug. 18, officials said the Akizuru was on a regular patrol flight.

The following day, the regional headquarters suggested the helicopter might have been communicating with the Mizunami patrol boat, which had legal trainees on board. The headquarters went on to repeatedly correct and withdraw remarks it had made.

At a press conference on Aug. 21, Nakamura explained that the top echelon of the headquarters decided Aug. 18 not to reveal information on the demonstration flights. That same day, Hayashi said he did not mention the demonstration flights because there were no questions from the press about the helicopter's mission.

Hayashi and Nakamura will be assigned to the general affairs division of the JCG for the time being.

Motomi Miki- commander of the 2nd Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture - will take over Hayashi's post, while Nakamura's post will be filled by Hisao Fujii, the director of the Navigation Guidance Office at the JCG's Maritime Traffic Department.

"I will calmly accept and follow the transfer order," Hayashi said in a statement issued Friday.