Japanese Boat Nearly Hit by U.S. Missiles

A U.S. naval vessel fired at least four dummy missiles that landed near a Japanese patrol boat at the mouth of heavily used Tokyo Bay, the Japanese government reported Friday. The missiles caused no damage or casualties.

The commander of the U.S. Pacific forces, Adm. Huntington Hardisty, visited Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and Foreign Minister Sosuke Uno separately early Friday to apologize for the incident. Takeshita replied that measures should be taken to prevent a recurrence.

Hardisty told Gen. Kichiro Tazawa, the director of Japan’s Defense Agency, that U.S. authorities were investigating the incident.

A U.S. military spokesman, Marine Sgt. Jake Rodriguez, said there would be no comment on the incident before Monday. U.S. diplomats here were not available Friday because of the Veterans Day holiday.

According to Japanese government and Japanese news agency reports the 3,400-ton guided missile destroyer Towers was conducting firing drills Wednesday about 10 miles off the Boso Peninsula, just east of Tokyo. The Towers fired four to six practice missiles, which landed in the water about 300 yards behind the Uraga, a Japanese Maritime Safety Agency patrol boat, at the mouth of Tokyo Bay.

Practice missiles contain an inert, or dummy, warhead and do not explode. However, some of the Uraga’s 46 crew members reported seeing 15-foot columns of water when the missiles hit.

The incident occurred in Japanese territorial waters that normally carry heavy sea traffic. Japan claims territorial waters of about 13 miles.

A Japan Defense Agency official told the Kyodo News Service that it “was like firing a pistol in Ginza,” a bustling shopping district in Tokyo.

Foreign Minister Uno reportedly called on U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield earlier this week to complain about the incident and try to determine its cause, a foreign ministry official said.