Posts Tagged ‘us military’

U.S. submarine leaks radiation in Japan

An American nuclear submarine that spent a week earlier this year docked at Sasebo leaked some radiation, apparently at a non-dangerous level.

It was a major news story that probably required a statement from the Japanese government to assure residents near naval bases that there was no danger, but Japan’s foreign minister wasn’t even informed of the leak until he saw it on TV:

“This (Saturday) morning I was watching CNN, and even if I don’t understand English that well I saw that something strange was going on,” Komura, who retained the post in the new cabinet, told a news conference.

“I therefore contacted (his subordinates) myself,” he said, adding that foreign ministry officials “should have shared the information faster” to enable him to make an announcement quickly.

The Pentagon on Friday announced that trace amounts of radioactivity may have seeped out of US nuclear missile submarine USS Houston during a cruise that included stops in Japan and Guam.

The Japanese foreign ministry said it received the information from the US government on Friday afternoon.

Komura said officials did not notify him because the leak posed no risk for residents or the environment. “But that is not a reason for delay,” he said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, the government’s number two who also retained his post, also criticised the Foreign Ministry for the delay.

“It is sincerely bad that some media reports preceded (the government’s) announcement,” he said.

“If the Foreign Ministry received communication from the US government, then it should either report to the Prime Minister’s office or make a public announcement,” he told reporters.

Most of the Japanese TV networks that covered the story included interviews with Sasebo residents that expressed concern over the leak. Here’s ATV’s coverage:

At the end of the clip, a couple Sasebo residents express their opposition to visits from nuclear-powered naval vessels, and one man is quite frustrated with how weak the Japanese government is when dealing with America.

The radiation news story comes just days after a decision by the U.S. Navy to sack two top officers on the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington for their “substandard performance” in connection to a fire that recently inflicted $70 million in damage to the ship. The George Washington will soon be using Yokosuka as its home port, and the news of American subs leaking radiation in Japan isn’t going to make local residents very happy about their situation.

U.S. Military golf ball injures Japanese child

A child playing in a park nearby Camp Zama was hit by a stray golf ball yesterday:

The 11-year-old was hit in the face with the golf ball after a member of the U.S. military playing golf on the course inside the base accidentally hit it over the fence and into a park. The kid was not seriously hurt, but he did get a bloody nose.

The U.S. military has said it will take measures to make sure such an incident will not occur again in the future.

U.S. Military Crime in Japan Not Increasing

Stars & Stripes has a story today reporting that there has been a decrease in serious crimes committed by the U.S. military community in Japan. The following chart was included in the article:

Last month, the USFJ commander, Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, credited the reduction of serious incidents to a greater emphasis on off-duty behavior as another military mission.

“We saw this challenge — to maintain the highest levels of professionalism — as somewhat of a combat operation, something we would have to pay a lot of attention to in an operational way,” he said.

Wright and other U.S. military officials say the decreasing numbers are no accident. Top military police and prosecution officials say stricter curfew and liberty policies, along with a commander-level emphasis on personal behavior, have helped lessen the number of incidents.

[via FG]