Foreign minister orders investigation into 'secret pacts' on nuclear weapons

Japan Press Weekly

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

Foreign minister orders investigation into 'secret pacts' on nuclear weapons

Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya on September 16 ordered Vice Foreign Minister Yabunaka Mitoji to investigate four Japan-U.S. "secret" agreements, including two pacts allowing the bringing of U.S. nuclear weapons into Japan.

At the press conference on September 17, Okada stated that the new government is urged to make a thorough investigation into these "secret" agreements so that the agents of government diplomacy can gain the trust of the people.

The controversial agreements are: (1) a secret pact concerning the "introduction" of nuclear weapons, concluded at the time of the revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in January 1960; (2) a secret agreement on combat operations in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula; (3) a secret accord reached at the time of the return of the reversion to Japan of the administrative rights over Okinawa in 1972 regarding the bringing of nuclear weapons into Japan in an emergency; and (4) a secret pact in the same year on Japan's payment of costs for restoring land in Okinawa used by the U.S. military to their original state when they are returned to Japan.

Okada instructed the ministry official to conduct a full investigation into the bilateral secret agreements and report the findings by the end of November.

Okada also said that he wants to set up a panel of experts in November to hold hearings from former high-ranking foreign ministry officials, investigate relevant documents, and conduct a fact-finding mission to the U.S. if necessary.

Okada also revealed that he will notify the U.S. of the start of the investigation at a bilateral meeting scheduled for October in New York.

The Japanese Communist Party has been calling for all secret accords on nuclear weapons introduction into Japan to be made public and immediately scrapped, essential to make Japan truly nuclear-free.

Upon the inauguration of the Democratic Party-led government, the JCP provided Hatoyama Yukio and Okada with relevant materials, which the JCP obtained through its independent investigations.

- Akahata, September 18, 2009