The Japanese government Wednesday urged the United States to fully investigate the cause of a collision between a US nuclear submarine and a Japanese commercial tanker in the Arabian Sea. The foreign ministry called the US embassy in Tokyo and expressed regret over the accident, requesting Washington swiftly look into the incident and provide information, the ministry said in a statement.
"Japan will continue pressing the United States to clarify what caused the accident," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, top government spokesman, said at a regular press conference.
Separately the ship's owner, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, announced the tanker suffered a hole of about 10 centimeters (four inches) by 35 centimeters (14 inches) on the bottom of a ballast tank, but that it was temporarily repaired.
The US Navy nuclear-powered submarine USS Newport News collided with the Mogamigawa tanker late Monday in the Strait of Hormuz in the Arabian Sea, one of the world's busiest seaways. No injuries were reported.
Source: Agence France-Presse
