How Japan Got Rid of America's Nuclear Weapons, in 1991 and 1992
"A major step forward to the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons," Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu said modestly.235
The offload was not instantaneous, however. The withdrawal of the
nuclear weapons was cleared by President Bush's approval of the 91-92
Nuclear Weapons Deployment Authorization (NWDA) on November 5, 1991,
which became National Security Directive 64 (NSD-64),236
but it would take nearly nine months before all nuclear weapons were
removed from the fleet. "We could get the weapons home faster," by
sending out replenishment ships to bring weapons back, "but it would be
dangerous. We don't want a weapon accidentally dropped over the side," a
Navy official said.237
Hans Kristensen Japan Under the US Nuclear Umbrella
Section 5, "Nuclear War Planning in Japan"
- Introduction and Summary
- The Early Years
- The Battle over Okinawa
- The "Secret" Agreement
- Nuclear War Planning in Japan
- About the Author
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