U.S. nuclear warships in Japan touch a nerve

[unhappycamper]

U.S. nuclear warships in Japan touch a nerve
By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 8:45:55 EST

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.

“That word just sets off all kinds of bells and whistles here,” said Rear Adm. James Kelly, commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Japan. “But just because you’re using the ‘R’ word — the radiation word — doesn’t mean it’s bad.”


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_japan_nuclear_ships_021509/%2e

[Angleae]

1. This coming from a country with 55 nuclear ractions.

2 more under construction and 11 more planned after that.