Japan Press Weekly

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2008 February 27 - March 4 [SDF]

Chiba legislature adopts resolution calling for thorough investigation into Aegis destroyer collision

The Chiba Prefectural Assembly on February 26 unanimously adopted a statement calling for a thorough government investigation into the collision between the Maritime Self-Defense Forces Aegis-equipped destroyer Atago and the fishing boat Seitoku Maru.

Stressing how citizens of Chiba Prefecture are shocked by the maritime tragedy, the prefectural legislature demanded that measures be taken to prevent the recurrence of a similar accident.

Recalling the July 1988 collision between MSDF submarine Nadashio and a pleasure boat in Tokyo Bay that killed 30 people and injured 17 others, the statement read, “The MSDF should have learned from its lessons and should have made every possible effort to prevent such accidents. But the accident occurred at a major fishing ground crowded with local fishing boats.”

In the statement, the Chiba Prefectural Assembly urged the government to do all it can to find the missing fishermen, thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, and take measures to prevent the recurrence of a similar accident.

Japanese Communist Party Chiba Prefectural Assembly members together with JCP Chair Shii Kazuo recently visited the Shin-Katsuura Fishermen’s Cooperative. The JCP was the first political party to propose a draft statement, based on the meeting in which they heard fishermen’s requests. The move was followed by other parties.