Lawsuit filed against port dredging for U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier deployment

   On July 3, 649 residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area filed a suit at the Yokohama District Court Yokosuka Branch (Kanagawa Pref.) seeking an injunction to prohibit the government from dredging at Yokosuka Port in preparation for the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base.

   At a press conference, representatives of the “Association for the Lawsuit against the Deployment of a Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier,” an organization that is calling for the lawsuit, argued that nuclear reactor accidents could result in radioactive contamination posing health risks to residents in areas within 165 km from the base.

   Pointing out that the government has never conducted any safety examination of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Lawyer Goto Masahiko said, “The dredging should be suspended in order to guarantee each plaintiff’s personal rights.”

   The association will file another case seeking a provisional disposition injunction against the dredging operation that the government is planning to start in the middle of July.

   The group is still inviting those who are willing to take part in the lawsuit as plaintiffs.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  　　- Akahata, July 4, 2007