Pacific Fleet briefs Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka took advantage of a short stopover in Honolulu yesterday to meet with military officials about the salvage operation of the Ehime Maru and also to meet with local Japanese-American groups.
Japan’s Tanaka
On an isle stopover, the foreign
minister lauds the Ehime
Maru salvage operationBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comIn a meeting with Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Tanaka said "Japan will extend full support to the salvage operations," press secretary Daisuke Matsunaga said.
Tanaka called the sinking of the Japanese fishing training ship by the USS Greeneville, "a regrettable accident that should not have happened."
However, she acknowledged, "The U.S. government has been doing its best in response to the surviving families' wishes and the wishes of the Japanese people."
The Feb. 9 accident south of Diamond Head, in which the U.S. nuclear submarine rammed the Ehime Maru during a surfacing drill, killed nine Japanese men and boys.
Tanaka arrived in Honolulu Saturday night from San Francisco, where she attended ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the treaty that officially ended World War II. It was her first official visit to Hawaii as foreign minister, a post she has held for four months.
Tanaka, who has a reputation of being a workhorse, packed her morning itinerary before boarding a noon return flight to Tokyo.
Tanaka was briefed on the salvage operations and the methods the Navy and Coast Guard, in cooperation with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, would use to raise the ship from 2,000 feet on the ocean floor.
Salvage operations have been largely unsuccessful in strapping and lifting the vessel. The Navy intends to lift the 830-ton vessel and tow it to shallower waters near Honolulu Airport. There, divers will search for the bodies of the missing crew members and any personal effects.
The Navy has predicted an 80 percent success rate.
Tanaka told Fargo that she asked Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday for the United States to continue its best efforts to salvage the sunken ship, Matsunaga said, adding that Powell told her the U.S. government would do its best.
Tanaka then visited the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya, which arrived in Pearl Harbor last month.
After a tour of the ship, she addressed Japanese divers who will assist in the salvage operation.
While the crew stood in formation on the ship's deck, Tanaka told them: "Gokurosama. I appreciate your presence here. Please think of the missing crew members as your family and ganbatte kudasai, do your best," Matsunaga said.
Tanaka also met with local representatives of Japanese-American groups at a tea party held at the Japanese Consulate.
"She provided refreshing insight in developing a closer bond between Japan and the United States," said Glenn Miyataki, president of the Japan-America Institute of Management Science. "I think it's wonderful she utilized such an occasion to reaffirm the partnership."
She then met with Japanese reporters who asked how it felt to visit Pearl Harbor, where World War II began, and San Francisco, where it concluded. An official with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs interpreted her comments.
"After 50 years it is very significant that the current state is being kept," she said.
"In order to keep that state for future generations, an effort to make correct decisions must be made."