Upon taking office yesterday, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said he would look into the alleged existence of a pact allowing nuclear-armed U.S. ships to dock in his nation, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Sept. 16).
Tokyo's "non-nuclear principles" prohibit the country from possessing or manufacturing nuclear weapons or allowing other states to place them on Japanese soil. However, ex-diplomats have asserted that a secret pact enabled the United States to skirt that ban.
The former government of Prime Minister Taro Aso refuted the claims. Aso's Liberal Democratic Party was unseated in Aug. 30 elections by the Democratic Party of Japan.
"The question of the secret accord is extremely serious," Okada said. "I will issue an order as minister to conduct thorough investigations into the matter" (Agence France-Presse, Sept. 16).
The deal allegedly dates back to 1960 and allows visits by sea vessels or aircraft laden with nuclear weapons, Kyodo News reported.
"I think there is a high probability that the secret pact exists, but I do not have clear evidence," Okada said.
Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka is expected to begin the review around Sept. 25. It would involve a panel of experts, interviews with former high-level Foreign Ministry officials and requests for information from the United States. A report on the matter, which could also address other secret U.S.-Japanese agreements, is expected in late November (Kyodo News/Breitbart.com, Sept. 17).