Japan Warned of Radioactive Leak from U.S. Sub

Tokyo, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japan has been warned of a radioactive
leak from a U.S. nuclear submarine that made port calls in Japan, the
Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The announcement came one day after the ministry received the information from the U.S. government, the ministry said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said at a press
conference that the ministry should have made public the information
promptly.

The U.S. Navy said that minuscule amounts of radioactivity might
have leaked from the USS Houston, a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, for months.

The submarine made port calls in Sasebo, the southwestern Japan
prefecture of Nagasaki, and Uruma, the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, in March and April.

The leak was found during the submarine's routine maintenance in
Hawaii last month, the U.S. Navy said.

Explaining of the delay in the announcement, the Japanese ministry
said it had determined that there would be no serious impact because the leak was negligible.

The total amount of radioactivity from the submarine during its
travel in the Pacific Ocean is estimated at only 0.5 microcurie, according
to the U.S. Navy.
Japan has no plans to file a protest with the United States anytime
soon, the Japanese ministry said.
The radioactive leak may intensify concerns among Japanese
municipalities housing U.S. bases about the U.S. military's ability to
control nuclear weapons.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which
is scheduled to be deployed in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, recently caught
fire onboard due to smoking by a crewmember.