Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 27 - September 2 [US FORCES]

JCP criticizes mayor for refusing to bar U.S. warships from entering Yokosuka Port

Yokosuka City Mayor Kabaya Ryoichi said on August 28 that the municipality is not authorized to bar U.S. warships from its port.

He stated this in response to representations made by Japanese Communist Party city assembly members.

The JCP representatives called on the mayor to reject the entry of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier into Yokosuka Port, pointing out that the radioactivity leak cases on the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Houston underline the fact that such vessels must not be allowed into Yokosuka Port in the light of the “fact sheet on U.S. nuclear-powered warship safety.”

The mayor stated that he finds nothing that contradicts the “fact sheet.”

JCP City Assembly member Isaka Shinya said, “His answer does not show any initiative or seriousness as mayor, or willingness to respond to citizens’ concerns. We will confront him in the coming city assembly session.”