Hokkaido Gensuikyo opposes USS Patriot entry into civil port
Representatives of the Hokkaido Prefectural Council against A & H Bombs (Hokkaido Gensuikyo) on October 19 visited the U.S. Consulate General in Sapporo and demanded that the planned entry of a U.S. vessel into Hakodate Port be cancelled.
The U.S. minesweeper "Patriot" based at the U.S. Navy Sasebo Base in Nagasaki is planning to enter Hakodate Port in Hokkaido on October 30 ostensibly for "goodwill and friendship" and is scheduled to leave on November 2.
The Hokkaido Gensuikyo had notified the U.S. Consulate General that it would submit a letter of protest against the USS Patriot's entry into Hakodate, but was turned away at the gate by the security guard. So the local Gensuikyo sent the letter by fax to Sapporo Consul General Donna Welton and also to U.S. President Barack Obama through the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
The letter points out that the use of Japanese territorial waters and harbors under the U.S. military strategy "has nothing to do with Japan-U.S. goodwill and friendship," and criticizes the planned port call for "running counter to President Obama's political call for a 'world without nuclear weapons'."
Hokodate City declares itself in support of the abolition of nuclear weapons and expresses its adherence to the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles (not to possess, produce, or allow the bringing-in of nuclear weapons)." The city government is now making inquiries with the U.S. Consulate General and the Japanese Foreign Ministry regarding whether the USS Patriot is nuclear capable or not.
- Akahata, October 20, 2009