The basing of a US nuclear-powered warship in Japanese waters for the first time will boost stability in East Asia, Japan's government said yesterday, hailing an agreement even as it drew protests from the community that will host the aircraft carrier.
The US Navy on Thursday announced the deal, under which Japan dropped its longtime opposition to hosting a nuclear-powered warship in its territory.
"Japan believes that the continued presence of the US Navy will contribute to safety and stability in Japan, the Far East and the world," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said yesterday.
He said the agreement would not threaten the safety of Japanese residents, who have long been wary of a US nuclear presence because of fears of radiation leaks.
"The US side has told us that it will continue taking strict safety measures," he said, adding that the carrier -- which has not been named -- will stop its nuclear reactor while anchored in Japan and conduct no repairs of the reactor there.
The US decided to deploy a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carrier in Japan because it has far greater capabilities than traditional warships, US ambassador Thomas Schieffer said yesterday at a news conference.
Schieffer said that Washington took into account the reluctance of the Japanese to host a nuclear-powered ship, but such ships are faster and more nimble than fossil-fuel powered ships.
"We want to assure all concerned that this carrier can and will be operated safely in Japanese waters," he said at the US embassy, adding that nuclear-powered ships had made 1,200 visits to Japan over the past 40 years without harming the environment.
The plan immediately met with opposition from local officials south of Tokyo near the city of Yokosuka, the home to the US Seventh Fleet and the future base of the new warship.
"No safety tests can be conducted on nuclear-powered ships because Japanese law does not apply, and there is a great risk in the crowded area," said Shigefumi Matsuzawa, the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, where the new warship will be based.
Matsuzawa said he would urge the US and Japanese governments to reconsider the plan.
The nuclear-powered carrier would replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a diesel-powered carrier based in Yokosuka.
The Kitty Hawk, commissioned in 1961, is the Navy's oldest ship in full active service and the only US aircraft carrier deployed abroad permanently. The new carrier would arrive in Japan in 2008, when the Kitty Hawk is scheduled to return to the US and be decommissioned.
The US Navy said the switch would boost the US military posture in the region.
"Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are far more capable than fossil fuel carriers ... possess superior endurance and sustained speed and can respond more quickly to any crisis," said Rear Admiral James Kelly, commander of US Navy Forces Japan.
The announcement came as the US and Japan are working out a plan for a realignment of the 50,000 American troops based in Japan -- a presence that has spurred protests over the years by residents angered by the bases.
Earlier this week the two sides struck a deal to close down a Marine Corps air station in Okinawa and transfer its functions to an existing base on the southern island, Camp Schwab. That plan, which calls for the building of a new heliport, was also running into opposition by some residents who are against any fresh military construction.
The two sides are meeting for high-level talks in Washington today to announce an interim plan for realignment. Schieffer yesterday said that the final plan would call for the reduction of US troops in Japan, but he did not elaborate.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central