The actions of the U.S. Navy and the Japanese Foreign Ministry concerning the possible leak of radioactive water from a nuclear-powered submarine during its port calls in Japan in March and April show that they lack sensitivity to the concerns of Japanese citizens.
A small leak was confirmed aboard the Houston, a 6,103-ton Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, on July 24. Radioactivity was detected in water that splashed over a sailor during a regular maintenance check of the sub on July 17 in dry dock in Hawaii.
The U.S. Navy notified the Foreign Ministry of the leak on the afternoon of Aug. 1 — a week after the confirmation. The leak may have continued for a few months. The submarine visited White Beach in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, on March 12 and docked in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, from March 27 to April 2 and on April 6. It also stopped over at its home base in Guam and in Hawaii from May to June.