U.S. Plan For Nuclear Weapons Operations In And Around Japan During The Cold War

december 11, 1999
U.S. Plan For Nuclear Weapons Operations In And Around Japan During The Cold War By November 1956 -- only fifteen months after Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu promised the Diet in June 1955 that the United States did not have nuclear weapons stored in Japan and did not plan to do so in the future without the approval of the Japanese government -- 13 separate U.S. military facilities in Japan had nuclear weapons or components stored, or were earmarked to receive nuclear weapons in times of crisis or war. Foreign Minister Shigemitsu's promise was based on an "understanding" he said he had obtained with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. The U.S. State Department denied the existence of such an "understanding" and Shigemitsu later sent a letter to the U.S. Ambassador where he assured the United States that “nothing in the discussions in the Diet commits the US Government to any particular course of action.” [For an account of these events, see the report Japan Under the Nuclear Umbrella]. Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act		Japan FOIA Documents Source: Headquarters, Far East Command, "Standing Operating Procedures No. 1 for Atomic Operations in the Far East Command (S)," FEC SOP No. 1, 1 November 1956 (partly revised January 1957). Secret. Obtained under FOIA. pdf format (Excerpts only; see below for text-version)

Excerpts from the document:

[Text under construction -- available in PDF-format]

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Source: Headquarters, Far East Command, "Standing Operating Procedures No. 1 for Atomic Operations in the Far East Command (S)," FEC SOP No. 1, 1 November 1956 (partly revised January 1957), pp. 1, D-1 through D-9, D-I-1/2, D-II-I. Secret. Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

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