Japan Press Weekly

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2023 February 22 - 28 [US FORCES]

Hiroshima peace groups: No! to MSDF-USN joint miliary exercises in Hiroshima Bay

Hiroshima's five peace groups, including the Japanese Communist Party Hiroshima Prefectural Committee and the Hiroshima Prefectural Council against A and H Bombs (Hiroshima Gensuikyo) visited the prefectural government office on February 24 to demand that the planned Japan-U.S. joint military training exercises in Hiroshima Bay be cancelled.

They submitted to Hiroshima Governor Yushima Hidehiko a written demand to that effect and sent a similar demand to Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu.

For two weeks until March 12, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force transport ship "Osumi" and the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship "Green Bay" will participate in joint military training exercises in Hiroshima Bay. It is the first time that a joint military exercise will be held in Hiroshima Bay.

The written demand states that the Defense Ministry's announcement regarding the planned joint drills was "a bolt from the blue and a shock for Hirioshima citizens" and expresses concern that war preparations may be underway in Hiroshima, the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack.

An official of the prefecture's international division said in response, "We already requested that the regional defense bureau take sufficient measures to protect citizens' safety."