A statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry says Tokyo reminded the United States that it must give Japan at least 24 hours notice before submarines arrive at its ports.Of course the State Department spokesman will blame the Navy. I'm more inclined to believe that some staffer in the U.S. embassy would fail to pass on the information from SubGru SEVEN than I would believe that the submarine staff messed up. Of course, the civilians get the last say.
Japan has asked U.S. officials to explain why the USS Providence arrived on the southern island of Okinawa today without prior notice. The U.S. embassy in Japan said the incident was due to what it called "miscommunication" in the U.S. Navy.
This appears to be only the 2nd screw-up we've had with Japan since we signed the 1964 agreement covering warship visits. The first was in April 2001, when USS Chicago (SSN 721) pulled into Sasebo for a touch-and-go at the pier when the Japanese had only been informed that the boat was only going to do a PERSTRANS or something out in the bay.
