Four crew members aboard a crashed Japanese military plane were confirmed dead today. <br/><br/>The defence ministry said, the wreckage was found on the northern island of Hokkaido, where the LR-2 reconnaissance craft disappeared from radar yesterday near Hakodate airport. It had been flying there to pick up a hospital patient at the request of Hokkaido's governor.<br/><br/>Troops and emergency crews earlier today found debris spread widely over the mountainous area. <br/><br/>The propeller aircraft was scheduled to take the patient from Hakodate to Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital city, for special medical treatment.