US nuke carrier plan in Japan criticized
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-30 10:56

While Japanese government highly welcomed the first deployment of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan, saying it will ensure a better security in the country, the public voice conveys strong protest against the plan,regarding it a further integration between Japanese and US military forces.

The move came after Washington announced Thursday that Japan and the United States had agreed to have the carrier to replace the conventional carrier Kitty Hawk at the naval base in Yokosuka, east Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2008.

Washington and Tokyo reiterated that nuclear-powered carriers are safe and that the stationing of such a vessel does not contradict Japan's nonnuclear principles because the principles refer to nuclear weapons, not to nuclear power generation.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said at a press conference that the deployment will "strengthen the Japan-US alliance and maintain the (US military) deterrence."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura underscored the importance of the continued presence of the US Navy in and around Japan for the country's security and international peace.

Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono echoed the foreign minister, saying that "from the viewpoint of Japan's national security and the security of the Asian region, I think it's extremely significant to have a carrier with such high capabilities using Japan as its home port."

But, no matter how much efforts the officials exerted in seeking for public support and understanding on the issue, local governments, military experts and residents across Japan strongly criticized the deployment plan immediately after the announcement.

Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya was quoted as saying in a NHK TV interview that, "I'm sorry and disappointed. I'm feeling betrayed."

Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa also criticized the Japanese government for agreeing with the United States on the matter, saying that "the move is extremely deplorable as it ignores local wishes."

Shoji Shimizu, one of the leaders of a Yokosuka group opposing the deployment of a nuclear-powered carrier, told reporters that "the Japanese and US governments had said they would respect local opinions. But then this sudden agreement has appeared."

Shimizu's group has submitted to the city government of Yokosuka a petition signed by about 300,000 people opposing the deployment of this type of carrier.

The United States has deployed three aircraft carriers in Yokosuka, including the Kitty Hawk, since 1973, all of which were conventionally powered. The Kitty Hawk has been stationed there since 1998.

In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where atomic bombs were dropped by the United States to force Japan to surrender during World War II, people voiced fear of possible accidents on a nuclear-powered carrier and concern that its deployment in Yokosuka could increasethe danger that Japan might be sucked into international disputes.

"If an accident ever occurs and causes damage to local people, it (Yokosuka) will be the third Japanese city exposed to nuclear radiation," said Hitoshi Hamasaki, a atomic bombing survivor.

The Hiroshima chapters of the Japan Council against A and H Bombs and the Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Sufferers Organizations said they sent a letter to the US Embassy in Tokyo to demand that US President George W. Bush withdraw the deployment plan.

Meanwhile, Japanese military experts also commented on the news.

Tetsuo Maeda, professor at Tokyo International University specializing in military research, said the deployment would make Yokosuka a leading US military base, giving the warship remarkably high mobility, and symbolizing US power.

Maeda also noted that locals would have concerns about safety issues, and referred this type of vessel as "a mobile nuclear reactor".

Experts' opinion coincide with the public voice, regarding the deployment as a dangerous sign of the Japanese government's attempt to ignore the nonnuclear principles.

The nuclear-powered carrier in Japan is not allowed because it will bring danger to Japan and its people, according to the experts who urged the Japanese government to insist on nonnuclear principles, enacted in 1971, and to keep the country away from nuclear weapons