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Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve

Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve- THE CANADIAN PRESS 16 Feb 09 YOKOSUKA, Japan

— As Masahiko Goto sees it, the USS George Washington is not a ship. It’s a floating nuclear disaster waiting to happen near one of the world’s biggest cities.The recent deployment of the huge aircraft carrier to a port just south of Tokyo has been welcomed by brass bands, an open-house crowd of 30,000 and promises of greater security for Japan and northeast Asia.

But to determined opponents here, it all boils down to two nuclear reactors and one big question. Are they safe?”It is unthinkable that we have reactors floating in the bay,” said Goto, a lawyer who is leading an effort to have the USS George Washington banned from Japan. “If there was a problem, it would affect not just our city, but Tokyo and the heart of Japan.”The George Washington is the first and only U.S. nuclear-powered warship with a home port outside the United States, and officials know that Japan – the only country ever attacked by nuclear weapons – has special sensitivities about anything nuclear…………………………..

Two recent incidents have raised concerns, however.

The George Washington’s arrival in September was delayed after a fire broke out in its lower decks on May 22 while it was docked in the United States under repairs. A Navy investigation found it took nearly eight hours to discover the source of the smoke and flames, by which time the fire had burned through eight decks and damaged 80 compartments…………………………a month earlier, it emerged that the submarine USS Houston had leaked radiation during visits to two Japanese ports, provoking headlines and a formal Japanese government protest.

Goto and others, who are pushing a referendum on whether Japan should host nuclear-powered vessels, have raised both incidents, saying they undermine the Navy’s general claim that the George Washington is safe.

The Canadian Press: Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve

February 16, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety