Foreign Ministry spokesman retracts denial of 'secret pact'+

TOKYO, March 11 Kyodo -
The Foreign Ministry's spokesman caused confusion Wednesday by saying the
ministry holds the view that no ''secret pact'' was reached by Japan and the
United States on the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan in the 1960s, a
day after a ministry panel acknowledged the existence of the pact.

Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama later retracted the comments, which were made in
response to a reporter's question about the ministry's official view on the
pact. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Tuesday acknowledged that a tacit
agreement existed on the issue but remained unclear about whether that could be
called a secret pact.
Kodama first told a press conference Wednesday that the ministry holds the view
that ''differences in recognition'' existed on whether port calls by U.S.
nuclear-armed vessels were subject to a bilaterally agreed prior consultation
process, but there was nothing that could be called ''a secret promise.''
But he retracted the remarks at another press conference later in the day,
saying there was nothing he could add to Okada's comments on Tuesday at a press
conference held to explain the outcome of an investigation by the panel of
experts.
Two different official reports have been issued on four suspected secret pacts.
One report was issued by the ministry's in-house investigation team and the
other by the panel of experts, which added its assessment to the in-house
study.
The panel concluded in its report that ''a secret pact in a broad sense'' was
reached between the two countries in the 1960s and suggested that nuclear
weapons may have been brought into Japan in violation of Japan's three
non-nuclear principles.
Under the ''tacit agreement,'' Japan effectively allowed U.S. nuclear-armed
ships to visit Japanese ports without prior consultation, according to the
panel.
Meanwhile, Okada said Wednesday that he does not think the United States will
load Tomahawk cruise missiles on its attack nuclear submarines when they make
port calls in Japan, in line with a U.S. policy of withdrawing tactical nuclear
weapons on its vessels.
''There are deep exchanges between the Japanese and the U.S. governments...I
don't think that Tomahawks (that can carry nuclear warheads) will be loaded,''
Okada told a parliamentary committee.
Okada's remarks suggested that the United States may have explained to Japan
its policy to retire Tomahawk missiles, which is expected to be included in the
''Nuclear Posture Review'' that Washington plans to announce possibly by the
end of this month.
Okada said Tuesday what the panel acknowledged as a secret agreement in a broad
sense is no longer effective because the United States has made clear since
1991, after the end of the Cold War, that it will withdraw all tactical nuclear
weapons from its surface ships and attack submarines.
Okada has also reiterated that Japan will continue to uphold the three
non-nuclear principles of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons
on its territory, which were first introduced in 1967.
==Kyodo
2010-03-11 00:18:57


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