March 20,2025

It was learned on March 19 that the U.S. government applied to Kobe City, which employs the “Non-Nuclear Kobe Port Formula,” for permission for a U.S. warship to enter the port which would be for the first time since the establishment of the policy 50 years ago.

Kobe City (Hyogo Pref.) in 1975 established the Kobe Formula which requires foreign naval vessels to submit a document certifying that they are not carrying nuclear weapons before entering Kope Port, otherwise they will not be allowed to make a port call at Kobe.

From 1960 to 1974, a total of 432 U.S. warships entered Kobe Port. The U.S. side does not submit a non-nuclear certificate because it has a policy of not revealing whether or not its ships carry nuclear weapons. As a result, in the past 50 years, not a single U.S. ship has entered the port and no permit application has been filed by the U.S.

However, the U.S. side on March 17 applied to the city of Kobe for the USS Warrior, a mine countermeasures ship of the U.S. Navy, to call at the port for comfort and supply purposes.

The Hyogo Prefectural Council against A and H Bombs (Hyogo Gensuikyo) and dockworkers’ unions at Kobe Port made representations to the Kobe City mayor and the city’s port authority to strictly enforce the Non-Nuclear Kobe Port Formula. Hyogo Gensuikyo is calling on antinuke/peace groups in the prefecture and all local Gensuikyo organizations in Japan to demand that Kobe City strictly adhere to the Kobe Formula.