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Japanese locals campaign against US Navy nuclear ships
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) - Masahiko Goto simply does not want a nuclear power plant in his backyard. He says it is dangerous and unnecessary, and over the past year he's collected 324,000 signatures of others who feel the same way. He's also pushed the U.S. Navy into a corner. Goto is spearheading a high-profile movement to squelch the planned replacement of the USS Kitty Hawk with a more up-to-date nuclear-powered vessel. The Kitty Hawk is the oldest active duty ship in the Navy and the only U.S. aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad.
For the moment, Goto's campaign appears to be winning. The campaign has hit a sympathetic note with the Japanese public, which is often wary of changes in the U.S. military footprint. The country has also been rocked by a string of scandals and accidents that has undermined confidence in the safety of Japan's own nuclear power program.
"People are more concerned than ever before with the safety of nuclear power plants in general," said Goto, who is a lawyer. "So it doesn't take much for them to realize that the idea of having one floating on a military ship in Tokyo Bay, near a huge population center, is really frightening."
| We're a little more frightened by concrete things, like an invasion of Taiwan with no ability to respond quickly. |
The swell of grass-roots opposition, which has won support from the local mayor and governor, has created a serious quandary for the Navy. Though the aging Kitty Hawk is battle ready, it's something of an anachronism. The Kitty Hawk and the Florida-based USS John F. Kennedy, commissioned respectively in 1961 and 1964, are the only carriers run by steam turbines left in service. Because the diesel-powered carriers are expensive to operate, the Kitty Hawk is due to be decommissioned in 2008.
| Diesel? Thought it was steam generated by oil-fired boilers. |
The Bush administration had proposed decommissioning the Kennedy this year. Doing so, it argued, would save $1.2 billion over the next six years. But the anti-nuclear movement here - and opposition at home - has forced officials to rethink that plan. Congress reached a deal in May delaying the Bush plan at least until after a review of U.S. forces is completed. Using Japan's opposition as leverage, Florida and Virginia lawmakers introduced the legislation to require the Navy to keep its carrier count at the current level of 12, with one based in Florida.
| Can't keep the Kitty Hawk going forever. Eventually they have to work something out. Could always base the replacement carrier at Pearl. |
The Kitty Hawk and its battle group are the centerpiece of the 7th Fleet, the largest in the Navy, with 40 to 50 ships, 120 aircraft and about 20,000 sailors and Marines within its command. Roughly 21 of the ships are deployed to Japan and the Pacific island of Guam, while the others rotate out of ports in Hawaii and the U.S. west coast.
Japan's leadership strongly backs the U.S. military presence in this country, and says the more than 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are a stabilizing force for all of Asia. But activist Goto said the Navy has done little to assuage local safety fears. "They are very secretive," Goto said.
| Militaries do tend to be that way. |
Posted by: Steve White 2005-08-06 |
