A Japanese air traffic controller fell asleep on the job today, leaving a plane unable to land as attempts were made to wake him over the radio, a report said.

The man, in his 50s, told bosses he had nodded off after feeling "drowsy" during his overnight shift at Naha Airport in Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan, Jiji Press reported.

An All Nippon Airways cargo plane from Bangkok seeking landing approval was unable to get through despite repeated attempts, with communications lost for 12 minutes.

Masanori Suzuki, a senior ministry official in charge of air traffic control, apologised and said a thorough investigation would be conducted to prevent similar problems in the future, Jiji reported.

While several air traffic controllers in the US were recently suspended and fired for sleeping on the job, such a case was rare in Japan, industry insiders told the agency.

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