Nakasone admits possibility of U.S. 'nuclear transit'

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone admitted in a recent interview that U.S. warships carrying nuclear weapons may have sailed through Japanese territorial waters during the 1980s when he was in office. This is the first time a former prime minister of Japan — which is especially sensitive about nuclear arms as the only country ever attacked with them — has mentioned the possibility of U.S. "nuclear transit" during the Cold War era.

"Nuclear warships might have come through Japanese waters" during the Cold War era, Nakasone said. "It is impossible for us to confirm that U.S. submarines are submerged in waters along the coast of Japan," he added, saying such nuclear transit had to take place without his clear knowledge. "I thought we could not do anything." It has been swept under the rug whether U.S. Navy ships and Air Forces bombers carrying nuclear arms had actually passed through Japanese territorial waters and air space.