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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

JCP protests against Kanagawa governor's approval of U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier homeporting at Yokosuka

Kanagawa Prefectural Governor Matsuzawa Shigefumi on August 16 expressed his approval of the plan to deploy a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base in the prefecture, saying that the Japanese government has shown a positive stance in ensuring the safety of the residents.

The Yokosuka mayor has already approved of the planned homeporting. The Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed that the U.S. nuclear-powered warship will be deployed to Yokosuka in 2008.

Japanese Communist Party Kanagawa Prefectural Committee's U.S. military base team chair Kasagi Takashi on the same day issued the following statement:

It is grave that Governor Matsuzawa made public his intention to accept the homeporting of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in defiance of the strong opposition of many residents and municipalities in and out of the prefecture. We urge him to withdraw the decision.

The safety of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that residents of Yokosuka City and the prefecture are concerned about has never been guaranteed in anyway.

As the governor is responsible for safeguarding the lives and safety of the residents, it will never be condoned that Governor Matsuzawa expressed his approval of such an outrageous plan that will expose residents in the metropolitan area to the danger of nuclear accidents and noise pollution caused by aircraft from the carrier.

The JCP will join forces with people in and out of the prefecture in order to block the plan of homeporting the nuclear-powered carrier at Yokosuka.
- Akahata, August 17, 2006