U.S. ambassadors to Japan in the 1960s repeatedly reminded senior Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, of a secret agreement for Japan to allow nuclear-armed U.S. vessels to call at the nation's ports or pass through its territorial waters, according to a recently declassified U.S. State Department document.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20071121f2a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='190'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira is seen with U.S. Ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer in this September 1963 file photo. </B> KYODO PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>The government, which maintains the three principles of not possessing, producing or allowing atomic weapons into its territory, has never admitted an accord existed.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>But other declassified U.S. documents have already shown that the two nations secretly exempted port calls and passage through Japan by U.S. vessels carrying nuclear weapons in revising the Japan-U.S. security treaty in 1960, and subjecting U.S. transportation of nuclear arms into Japan to prior bilateral consultations. The two sides confirmed the position in April 1963.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The latest document, obtained by the independent U.S. think tank National Security Archive, indicates the U.S. remained concerned in the late 1960s as Japanese officials domestically told the Diet that such port calls or passages are not allowed.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Dated Jan. 26, 1968, the document is in a 'top secret' telegram sent by U.S. Ambassador Alexis Johnson to the State Department about his discussions the day before with senior Foreign Ministry officials over his meeting earlier that month with Foreign Minister Takeo Miki.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>In the telegram, Johnson reported that after the meeting with Miki, 'I was most gravely concerned that there was perhaps basic misunderstanding between the two governments that must be cleared up soonest,' and that he spoke of the concern to the Japanese officials.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Until Miki had spoken to me, I had been proceeding on the assumption that senior levels of the government of Japan, at least Prime Minister Sato, understood our position and government spokesmen were saying what they had said in –

Diet for their own purposes," Johnson quoted himself as telling the officials.

The Japanese officials mentioned were Vice Foreign Minister Nobuhiko Ushiba and Fumihiko Togo, head of the American Affairs Bureau.

Referring to the April 1963 confirmation of the position between Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira and U.S. Ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer, Johnson told the officials Japan has never since indicated it did not "at least acquiesce in that position."

He cited Reischauer's talks again with Ohira in September 1964 and with Sato that December, plus another U.S. effort the same month to confirm that its position was shared with Foreign Ministry officials.