Yokosuka Peace Squadron
The Yokosuka Peace Squadron (YPS) is a group of citizens trying to take back our seas from the military. With the goal also of creating a symbiotic relationship with the seas, we have plans to enjoy events to become closer to the sea. Come aboard our boats with us!
YPS was formed in 1987 at the initiative of “Captain” Suzuki Shigeki, inspired by the world-wide anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s.
As in other places in the world, there
was a big rise of the anti-nuclear movement in
The Yokosuka Peace Squadron sails out to
What is special about YPS is that while
having fun on the sea (military bases), you can at the same time act against
the base. You can fully appreciate the greatness of having the sea and boats
through the experiences of a boating school, fishing, island hunting, and going
out in the water on a rubber boat/kayak, etc. Please join us on the water.
乗船者の声（ウ”ェニスさん） Passenger’s Feedback
Coming to Japan I had no idea I would be lucky enough to get a tour of Yokosuka and by boat its USN and JMSDF facilities. I had only been aware of Yokosuka due to my research into US force projection in Asia, but the recent Pacific Future Forum put it on my radar so to speak due to the fact that the host ship for that conference, the UK’s aircraft carrier the HMS Prince of Wales, was repaired at Yokosuka. When the opportunity to tour and participate in a sort of peace action was presented while joining a prisoner letter writing night at Irregular Rhythm Asylum, I took the offer. My anti-war and anti-ICE activism in the U.S. and academic research regarding military philosophy also closely aligns with the idea of doing a tour and peace action. On top of that, I also grew up, near Seattle in the US, next to Trident Refit Facility Bangor, a base that houses *Ohio-class* nuclear-powered submarines equipped with nuclear warhead armed MIRV IBCMs, as well as US Naval Base Kitsap, and because of this I was also wondering if the issues presented by the Naval facilities in Yokosuka would have any resonance with my experience. It turns out that there was a lot of resonance between these two contexts. Not only with the complicity in war in general, but also regarding the presence of potential nuclear disasters, pollution, bad development in an area with socio-economic issues that remain largely unaddressed, and so on. But yes what was also a commonality was the sort of critical importance to U.S. force projection. One thing that was really driven home was that the U.S. could not have pulled off most of its major military operations, and atrocities, in Asia and the so-called Middle East going back to the Korean War without its bases in Japan. Another thing that I experienced was that wars are fought by people and often people with really terrible working conditions. The amount of suicides on the USN and other ships was not surprising, but still I couldn’t help but think that these sailors are people who have chosen to act against their own interests have been alienated by social media and military infrastructure. Some certainly are bad people and as long as they follow their orders they perhaps continue to be, but still there’s a reason the state is so afraid of anti-militarist propaganda. During the tour comrades shouted messages at USN and JMSDF sailors over megaphones. This got me thinking about what I would say to a U.S. service member. “American Sailor, brinksmanship is not a method of preventing wars, it is the cause of it. American Sailor, your enemy is at home. You suffer here to line the pockets of tech billionaires like Peter Thiel who sponsors conferences to convince your bosses that forever war isn’t that bad of a thing and that poor Americans don’t have a right to live.” If I return, maybe I would like to try my hand at this. It was really perspective enhancing to see the infrastructure and the vessels up close and hear the knowledgeable guide describe the specifics in detail. To see the USN’s Destroyer Squadron 15 up close, to see the JMSDF’s subs, escorts, and destroyers was impactful, but almost more so was to see the hills in which munitions are stored and definitely more so was to see the sailors watch us through binoculars and the civilian workers and their families that make sure the logistics than enable their operations are functioning go about their days. War is a matter of logistics and if we can better understand them we can better understand how to one day stop its terrible machinations. Likewise the systems of war and capitalism are world-wide and resistance to them must be as well. Wars between nations likely will not stop until we see each other beyond our nation-state containers, which may seem contradictory when we’re backing locals against multinational corporations and global superpowers, but this fact is one of the reasons it felt important to visit comrades in Japan in the first place. Even in war, power is more social than it is in military. Some of the activists engaged in the struggle in Yokosuka have been involved for decades, and have been coming out to spread information and to socially intervene. It is precisely this sort of social engagement and institutional memory that makes anything possible. They’re holding a torch, and it’s up to us to grab it or with it light our own torches. （日本語） 横須賀とアメリカ海軍と海上自衛隊の施設を、日本の海上から見学できる幸運に恵まれ るとは思っていなかった。アジアにおける米軍の戦力投射について研究してきたので、 横須賀について全く知らないわけではなかった。先日のパシフィック・フューチャー・ フォーラムの招待艦である英空母プリンス・オブ・ウェールズの修理が横須賀港で修理 されたことなどで、あらためて横須賀について考えていたところだった。そんな折、イ レギュラー・リズム・アサイラム（※1）で行われた政治犯に手紙を書く会(※2)に参加 したときに、ヨコスカ平和船団について知った。「誰でも参加OK」と言われたら、招か れることにした。 私自身がアメリカで行ってきた反戦・反ICE(※3)活動や軍事哲学に関する学術研究は、 ヨコスカ平和船団および横須賀における平和活動と方向性が近い。とりわけ私はアメリ カのシアトル近郊で育った。 *マーヴ* IBCMを搭載したオハイオ級原子力潜水艦の母港であるトライデント改修施設およびキッ トサップ米海軍基地があるため、横須賀の海軍施設問題が私の経験と重なるであろうこ とは想像に難くはなかった。 いわゆる「戦争への加担」だけでなく、潜在的な原子力災害の存在、汚染、社会経済的 な問題に手つかずのまま地域が良くない方向で開発されていくこと…シアトルと横須賀 に通じるものは多い。とくに米軍の戦力投射・戦略において、わたしたちの街は、ある 意味で決定的な重要性を持っている。米国の、アジアやいわゆる「中東」地域における 大規模な軍事作戦や残虐行為のほとんどは、朝鮮戦争まで遡っても、日本に米軍が基地 を置いていなければ、なし得なかった。戦争は「人々」によって行われており、多くの 場合、その人々は本当にひどい労働条件におかれている。米海軍や他の船での自殺者の 数には驚かない。しかし船員たちがソーシャルメディアや軍事インフラによって孤立・ 疎外され、それぞれひとりの人間として望む利益に反する行動を選択している人々であ るという印象を受ける。もちろん海軍には悪人もいる。機関上層部の命令に従う限り、 おそらく彼らはそのようなあり方しかし得ないだろう。 しかし、それだけの統制をもってしても、なお国家には反軍国主義者の扇動を恐れる理 由があるのだ。 巡視中、仲間がメガホンで米軍と海上自衛隊員にメッセージを叫んでいた。これを聞い て、私ならば、ここでアメリカの軍人に何を言うかと考えてみた。 米海兵士たちよ、瀬戸際外交は戦争を防ぐものではなく、戦争をつくっているんだぞ 米海兵士たちよ、敵はあなたの故郷ににいるぞ あなたがここで苦しむことで、ピーター・ティール（※4）みたいなIT長者たちが私腹 を肥やしているんだ 彼らはあなたの上司を手名付ける会議を開いているよ 「戦争が永遠に続くのは悪くない」とか「貧乏なアメリカ人には生きる権利がない」 永遠の戦争はそれほど悪いことではなく、貧しいアメリカ人には生きる権利がないと上 司を説得しているんだ 帰国したら、そんなことを言えるか試してみたい。 船上で知識豊富なキャプテンたちのガイドによって視点が深まった。まず米海軍の第15 駆逐隊や日本の海上自衛隊の潜水艦、護衛艦、駆逐艦を間近で見た。さらに目を見張っ たのは、軍需品が保管されている丘だ。そしてそれ以上に衝撃を受けたのは、双眼鏡で 私たちを見守る水兵たち。そして軍事作戦だけでなく、兵站機能を途切れさせない軍属 とその家族の日常が垣間見えたこと。戦争は兵站の問題であり、それをよりよく理解で きれば、いつの日か、その恐ろしい策略を止める方法をよりよく理解することができる 。同様に、戦争と資本主義のシステムは世界的であり、それらに対する抵抗も同様に世 界的でなければならない。国家間の戦争は、国家という容れ物を越えて、お互いを間近 に見るまで止まらないだろう。多国籍企業やグローバルな超大国に対抗し、地元の産業 やあり方を支援しているとき。同時に「世界」について語るのは矛盾しているように聞 こえるかもしれない。しかし抵抗が世界的であるという事実こそが、そもそも日本の同 志を訪問することの大切に感じた理由の一つだ。戦争でさえ、権力と軍事を比べたら、 権力のほうが「世界的（社会的）」である。 横須賀の闘争に参加している活動家の中には、何十年も前から参加している人もいて、 情報を広めたり、社会的に介入し続けている。まさにこの種の社会的関与とそのしくみ を記憶していくことであらゆることが可能になっていく。その人たちは火のついた松明 を持っている。その松明をつかみとるか、あるいはそれで自分たちの持つ松明をともす のか。それは私たち次第だ。 ※1 新宿にあるインフォショップ。通称IRA。ミニコミ（現代用語で「ジン」）などを 置いていて、アナキストにとってのコミュニティスペースでもある。 ※2 IRAで隔月で行われている。日本、香港、ベラルーシ、インドネシアなど国内外の政治 犯や収容者を支援する人々が集まって近況報告や、手紙を書いたりしている。 ※3 アメリカ合衆国移民・関税執行局。通称ICE。 ※4 アメリカ合衆国の起業家、投資家。 PayPal、OpenAI、Palantir共同創業者。 ドナ ルド・トランプ元政策顧問。
a3bcという版画集団リョクサンさん
11月30日、横須賀軍港フィールドワークでヨコスカ平和船団に搭乗させていただきまし
た。
脱資本主義の国際的な連帯と芸術を生かす戦略を考えるワークショップに参加したとき
にとても魅力的な海さんに出逢い
その海さんからお声がけをいただき、今回この運動に参加させていただきました。
した。
横須賀に広がる軍港は人工的で海の風にあたっているのになんだか重苦しい空気でした
。
10人程が乗れるボートが２隻「PEACE」と書かれた虹色の旗をなびかせて、後ろからは
海上保安庁がピッタリと同行。
巨大化で威嚇する無機質な要塞を目の前に怯むことなく、約40年間も大きな拡声器を使
って語りかけてる姿を見ました。
そこにはずっと横須賀の海の平和を守りたい一心で監視してくれてるヒトたちがいて、
闘い続けていたヒトたちがいました。
圧倒的な差がある存在の身近さ、そしてそれに抵抗する姿に胸がギュッとなりました。
ボートがなければ出来ないことですし、骨の折れるような苦労の連続だったであろうと
容易に想像できます。
巨大で灰色の無意味で害しか生まない税金のカタマリに謎の名前が付けられ、
なんだか危なっかしい触覚が嘘のように沢山ついていたのが印象的でした。
住民のすぐそばに弾薬があり、アメリカ軍のための過大優遇、そして非核三原則は破ら
れている現実を知ることになりました。
乗船していた私は民意の一部になったような気がしました。
権力者が強くなれば遊び道具の軍事が拡大するだけ、ただそれだけのような気がしてな
らないのです。
我々の税金が湯水のように使われていますが、誰のために、何のための税金なのでしょ
うか。
「力による平和」が外交として肯定されはじめ
抑止力という名のもとにミサイルが足りないと高市は言い放った。
住民を無視した「住民を守るため」と言う言葉
いつの時代もやりたい放題な権力者にはウンザリしますが
私はきっと船の上で戦争と武力行使を永久に放棄した民意の一部になった感じを忘れな
いと思います。
この様な貴重な機会をいただきありがとうございました。
Much to be learned
from the recent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
The following message was delivered on the water on Apr 24.
Good morning everyone
in the US Navy 7th Fleet,
We are a group of citizens living in
The disaster is now called “triple-difficulty”
with the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. It is natural we
thought of the CVN73 George Washington and our community, a soon as we learned
about the accident. Uneasy was the word that explains how we felt. The CVN73 is
just beside us and is driven by the nuclear power. What if an accident occurs
on her?
In
It’s safe because, for instance,
the power plants are much smaller than those of the commercial nuclear power
plant, and it’s rated much lower. Their replies tend to be about technical
specifications. Technical specifications are set at the beginning for designing
and are only based on “anticipation”. As the world has learned in the recent
accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, what really could happen
cannot e predicated 100% accurately. In other words, human being anticipation
could be failed in the reality.
To protect our future and to protect the children, we have to continue voicing “NO NUKES”, “No more nuclear power of anything”
 |
Don’t Make Tokyo Bay into a Dead Sea!
Action on the sea against a VCN
Taking special notice of the return of USS
George Washington, which evacuated from Yokosuka port, the Yokosuka Peace
Squadron (YPS) took action against it on the sea on April 24 using our yacht
and motor boat. Fourteen people participated in the action.
The stormy rain of the previous day stopped
magically and under a blue sky, it was a perfect day for cruising, but we came
not for a cruise but to protest the return of the VCN. After witnessing the
grave accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, we stressed the danger
of the nuclear reactors in front of us, i.e., the VCN.
We cannot trust the assurances of safety
given by the Japanese or the U.S. governments. A nuclear accident may occur any
time so we don’t want dangerous nuclear power. We must not make Tokyo Bay into
a dead sea.
.
Protest Action on the Water
against
the First Ballistic Missile
Defense Training in Yokosuka Port
On the windy morning of February 27, members of the Yokosuka Peace Squadron carried out a protest action on the water against the Ballistic Missile Defense Training conducted jointly by the U.S. 7th fleet and Japan’s Maritime Defense Force for four days from February 28 to March 3. This joint exercise seems to have brought ballistic missile defense from the experimental level to the operational level.
We opposed the training for a number of reasons, including:
(1) It increases military tensions in East Asia and impedes the path toward peaceful settlement;
(2) The SDF’s participation in the U.S. missile defense program is in conflict with the ban of the right of collective defense stipulated in the Constitution; and
(3) Japan’s involvement in the joint research of “SM3 block 2A” (sea-based interceptor missiles) is a violation of the ban on weapon exports.
We
just learned that soon there will be a joint exercise held by Japan Maritime
Defense Force and the US Navy for intercepting ballistic missile. This will be
the first exercise of this sort.
Thirteen people participated in the protest action.
The warships involved in the training included the cruiser USS Shiloh (right) and the Aegis-class destroyer JS Chokai.
In the afternoon, members of the group went to the Maritime Staff Office to deliver a letter of protest but had to settle for passing the letter over the iron gate as the officers who met us refused to open it. (See the letter of protest below)
Our Demand: Stop the Joint BMD Training!
To: Head of the JMSDF Yokosuka Regional District Headquarters
From: Hikaku Shimin Sengen Undo Yokosuka (Yokosuka Citizens for Peace)
Yokosuka Heiwa Sendan (Yokosuka Peace Squadron)
Date: February 27, 2011
On February 22, the Maritime Staff Office announced a plan entitled “On the exercise of the BMD special training.” It stated that a U.S.-Japan joint exercise would be conducted on the interception of ballistic missiles from February 28 to March 3. We demand that you cancel this exercise, as we believe that the missile defense program will only threaten peace in East Asia and create military tension.
The Japanese government began to participate in the U.S. missile defense program in 2003, and since then has spent one trillion yen in tax money for the program-related items, e.g., refurbishing and conducting launch tests on Aegis destroyers, carrying out exercises on the deployment and transportation of PAC3 missiles, and measures against North Korean missile tests. We heard that this will be the first simulation training on the interception of ballistic missiles at Yokosuka base. This is nothing but a military buildup under the name of defense, and has the potential to lead to a new “Cold War.”
East Asia, where we live, is situated within a dangerous military balance among Russia, which confronts the United States, North Korea, which has repeatedly carried out nuclear tests and missile launches and shelled Pyeongdong Island, and China which has been building aircraft carriers in search of marine supremacy. It is obvious that this “training” is linked to the United States-South Korea joint military maneuvers scheduled to be held from February 28 to March 10, abandoning the path to disarmament and a peaceful settlement but increasing military confrontation and tension.
JMSDF’s participation in the U.S. missile defense program will lead to its automatic integration into the U.S. military operations to defend the U.S. and ultimately to its exercise of the right of collective defense, which is prohibited by the Constitution. The military defense program is a system that places the mainland U.S. and its allies under a single command. Once Japan joins the missile defense program, it will be integrated under the command and control of the U.S. military, and will have no choice but to exercise the right to collective defense.
What we are most concerned about in the area of missile defense is that through the U.S.-Japan joint research on “SM3 block 2A,” scheduled to be deployed in 2015, Japan’s “Three Principles on Arms Exports” may be violated. This is a policy that highlights Japan’s pacifism following its defeat in World War II, and is a “treasure” that we can boast of to the world. It is thanks to these principles that Japan has been able to take initiative on issues such as disarmament and arms reduction in the United Nations.
The United States has been pushing Japan on “SM3 block 2A,” intending to get it deployed in other countries participating in missile defense once it is completed. The principles will consequently be broken.
We call for the cancellation of the BMD training in Yokosuka.
We call on the Japanese government to withdraw from the missile defense network.
We call for a peaceful nuclear-free and missile-free world.
Dear friends Back