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Mori angry
about distraction
'At this point, it is only natural
for us to request the U.S. ... to
conduct thorough investigations'Reuters
TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori reacted angrily today to news that civilians on a U.S. submarine distracted the crew shortly before it smashed into and sank a Japanese ship, leaving nine people missing.
Inquiry delayed
Relatives of those presumed drowned in the February 9 tragedy off Hawaii also expressed outrage at reports of what went wrong.
"This is extremely deplorable," Japanese media quoted Mori as telling reporters.
"But we must not seek a solution in haste.
"At this point, it is only natural for us to request the U.S. government to conduct thorough investigations."
In Honolulu, a crew member on the submarine USS Greeneville told the National Transportation Safety Board that civilians were "distracting" as the vessel prepared to surface on February 9.
The sunken ship, the Ehime Maru, was carrying students from a Japanese high school on a fisheries training project. Twenty-six people were rescued.
Transportation Safety Board official John Hammerschmidt told a news conference in Honolulu that the sonar plotter -- a crew member who notes contacts with other possible ships -- told the board he was unable to finish plotting sonar blips because civilians were in the way.
Hammerschmidt said the submarine made sonar contact with a surface vessel shortly before the accident, and that Navy analysis showed the vessel was the Ehime Maru.
Two of the 16 civilians on board the submarine were at the controls when it conducted an emergency surfacing drill that caused it to crash into the ship.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference:
"If the fact that private citizens were on board led to the accident...then it's a serious issue and we must take appropriate measures," an apparent reference to possible demands for compensation.