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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Shii exposes government lies about 'safety' of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

In his speech on July 9 at the rally in Yokosuka City to oppose the planned homeporting of the U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier George Washington at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base (for the rally, see separate item), Japanese communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo exposed the Japanese and U.S. governments' lies about the "safety" of nuclear-powered carrier as follows:

The Japanese and U.S. governments have pressed the Yokosuka mayor into accepting the plan to deploy the U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier to Yokosuka and are trying to implement it in disregard of strong public opposition. They have reached the final agreement on realigning U.S. forces in Japan and are now moving toward implementing it with the view of drastically strengthening the functions of U.S. bases in Japan and enhancing military integration between Japan and the United States.

'U.S. nuclear carrier is safe' is a big lie

The public is most concerned about the danger from possible radioactive pollution.

In the "fact sheet" about the "Safety of U.S. NPWs" published last April, the U.S. government repeatedly maintained that the nuclear aircraft carrier is safe.

The fact sheet states, "U.S. Nuclear Powered Warships (NPWs) have safely operated for more than 50 years without experiencing any reactor accident or any release of radioactivity that hurt human health or had an adverse effect on marine life," and "NPWs have visited Japanese ports more than 1200 times," but they did not "result in any increase in the general background radioactivity of the environment."

These claims are false.

U.S. nuclear-powered warships have caused many accidents, including serious ones that could have led to a meltdown of a nuclear reactor core and the sinking of a nuclear submarine.

When U.S. nuclear submarines visited Yokosuka in 1996 and 1998, the amount of radioactive materials that leaked from them was three times the level of average annual exposure.

They claim, "There has been no accident," but the fact of the matter is that they "have never made public such accidents" on the grounds they are military secrets.

How humiliating it is that the Japanese government unconditionally accepted the U.S. report and decided to accept the homeporting of the U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier at Yokosuka!

'Military-first policy' brings danger to us

The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington's reactor has a generating capacity equivalent to Japan's Mihama Nuclear Power Plant Reactor No.1. What's more, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier reactors are more dangerous than those for civil purposes.

First, nuclear-powered warships suddenly change their generating power.

Second, under the Japanese Nuclear Reactor Regulatory Law, a nuclear-powered ship must show safety certificates 60 days before entering a Japanese port. However, U.S. nuclear warships are exempt from this requirement. If the U.S. just maintains that nuclear ships are safe, they can gain free access to Japan's ports even though the U.S. assertion is dubious.

This means that Japan cannot control or regulate any nuclear accidents or leakage of radioactive materials. How can we allow such an outrage?

We will stop ground, naval, and air forces from increasing their strike capability

Why are they trying to deploy such a dangerous warship to Japan? It is driven by the dangerous plan developed by the Japanese and U.S. governments in the name of "transforming and realigning" U.S. forces in Japan.

The Japanese prime minister and the U.S. president at their summit talks on June 29 issued a joint document "Japan-U.S. Alliance of the New Century," declaring that the two countries are prepared to carry out military cooperation on a global scale.

The focal points in the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan are Okinawa, Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and the Tokyo metropolitan area that includes Yokosuka.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the U.S. Navy plans to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka with Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ships guarding it.

Under the plan, the U.S. Army will deploy its reorganized first corps command from the U.S. to U.S. Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture. Japanese Ground SDF units with overseas missions will be deployed there to join with U.S. forces to establish preparedness for joint military operations abroad.

The U.S. Air Force will have the Japanese Air SDF command move to the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo with the aim of working together.

It's important to note that these are taking place in the Tokyo metropolitan area in preparation for launching preemptive attacks.

In the first place, how can we allow foreign military forces to be deployed Japan's capital area? We strongly demand that all foreign forces leave and all plans to strengthen the functions of U.S. bases in Japan be stopped.

Revoke the agreement with U.S.

Now, opposition to the U.S. military realignment in Japan is growing vigorously with local municipalities and residents hosting U.S. bases participating together.

In Okinawa, the Nago mayor accepted the plan to construct a U.S. Marine Corps air base, but in Okinawa City, an anti-U.S. base progressive candidate was elected mayor.

Citizens in Iwakuni City hosting a U.S. Marine Corps base, first in a referendum and then in a mayoral election, rejected the plan to relocate U.S. aircraft carrier-borne aircraft there from the U.S. Naval Atsugi Air Station in Kanagawa.

In Yokosuka, citizens have collected more than half a million signatures opposing the deployment of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier there. The local newspaper Kanagawa Shimbun twice carried editorials calling for rejection of the homeporting plan.

The public anger at the government plan to use as much as 3 trillion yen in tax money for U.S. military realignment is raging.

Let's make every effort to increase the struggle with local governments and residents to oppose the plan to strengthen U.S. base functions. Let us fight to get the U.S. military realignment plan revoked, showing national unity!
- Akahata, July 11, 2006