USS STETHEM'S NAGASAKI VISIT ENDS SMOOTHLY DESPITE

UNCLAS FUKUOKA 000011 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PREL JA SUBJECT: USS STETHEM'S NAGASAKI VISIT ENDS SMOOTHLY DESPITE GUBERNATORIAL OPPOSITION ¶1. (SBU) On February 13, the USS Stethem concluded a successful three-day routine visit to Nagasaki City. The Stethem's visit was the first USN port call to Nagasaki since June 2002 and the 15th one to that city since 1967. Although there was strong opposition to the visit by the Nagasaki Prefectural Governor and Nagasaki City Mayor, with the prefectural government taking the extreme stance of refusing to issue a formal, written berth assignment, there were few problems related to local provision of pier-associated support. In addition, despite the governor's deliberate early release of the ship's details to the media, the number of anti-visit protestors present for the Stethem's arrival was no more than that for USN port calls elsewhere in Kyushu. ¶2. (U) During the course of their February 10-13 visit, USS Stethem officers and staff engaged in various friendship and cultural exchange activities with local Nagasaki citizens. Stethem CO CDR Robert Gonzalez paid courtesy calls on senior officials at the Nagasaki Chamber of Commerce, Nagasaki Japan-America Society, Oura Police Station, and Nagasaki Port (e.g., the Maritime Safety Agency's Nagasaki port director). He also hosted an onboard reception and tour for about twenty of Nagasaki's economic/political elite and locally-based senior JSDF officials. A leading Nagasaki businessman reciprocated with a small reception for CDR and Mrs. Gonzalez and the Stethem's XO. In addition to participating in bus tours of Nagasaki City and other nearby scenic sites, crewmembers visited a local children's home, where they played games and shared American snacks with the children. Yokosuka-based family members and friends of a number of the Stethem's crew also traveled to Nagasaki, where they and their respective crewmembers all enjoyed the city's annual Lantern Festival activities. ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: Given Nagasaki City's strong international anti-nuclear stance, it is politically unlikely that local officials like Governor Kaneko and Mayor Itoh will ever cease their firm opposition to USN ship visits. Indeed, against this fierce anti-visit backdrop, even some of post's most pro-U.S. contacts were less forthcoming than usual due to their concern about being viewed as indifferent to the sensitivities of the city's World War II atomic bomb victims. Nevertheless, there are members of the Nagasaki political and economic elite who both understand and support the broader purpose of USN port calls and its mutual benefits to the U.S. and Japan. Post will work closely with these leaders to pave the way for even more successful USN ship visits to Nagasaki in the future. WONG