Nagasaki Prefecture will not allow Houston to call at Sasebo Port until cause of radioactivity leaks is determined

Japan Press Weekly

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

Nagasaki Prefecture will not allow Houston to call at Sasebo Port until cause of radioactivity leaks is determined

The Nagasaki Prefecture Government on August 8 notified the Foreign Ministry of its refusal to accept the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Houston at Sasebo Port unless the safety of the submarine is confirmed.

The prefectural action was in response to the petition by the Japanese Communist Party Nagasaki Prefectural Committee earlier in the day calling for the rejection of the entry of the U.S. nuclear submarine into the prefecture’s port.

In the meeting with a prefectural government official in charge of disaster prevention and crisis management, JCP Nagasaki Prefectural Committee Chair Yamashita Mitsuaki said, “The safety myths (about the nuclear-powered ships) have collapsed. The governor of the atomic bombed prefecture should notify the Japanese and U.S. governments of its rejection of the entry of U.S. nuclear-powered warships in order to ensure the safety of the prefectural residents.”

Yamashita also said that the governor should also lodge a protest directly with the U.S. government. ? Akahata, August 9, 2008