U.S. Navy security teams prepare to fire blank rounds during a harbor security exercise near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 5, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — U.S. Navy harbor security boats raced through waters near the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet and fired hundreds of blank rounds Wednesday, part of a three-day exercise that drew protests earlier in the week.
Short bursts of gunfire were heard throughout the day as the two boats chased each other through Truman Bay, a restricted waterway connected to Tokyo Bay that serves as the base’s main harbor. Similar shots could also be heard Tuesday near the same area.
The exercise, conducted by sailors with the base’s security division, began Tuesday and runs through Thursday, according to the base’s official Facebook page.
All gunfire used “blank simulation rounds,” and safety measures were in place to protect the community and any civilian vessels nearby, the post said.
U.S. Navy security teams race through Truman Bay during a harbor security exercise near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 5, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Base spokesman Justin Keller declined to provide any information on the exercise, including whether the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force or other Navy vessels participated or what scenario was being drilled.
“As a matter of policy, we do not discuss specific exercise scenarios,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.
About two dozen people protested Sunday outside Yokosuka’s main gate, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by former Japanese House of Representatives member Kimie Hatano. Some held signs that said “Stop! Blank Firing Training!”
Yokosuka City Council leader Yoko Omura and Nobuaki Hayashi, the Japanese Communist Party district chairman, were at the protest, according to the post.
“Yokosuka Port is a ‘sea for everyone’ where peaceful activities can take place,” Hatano, a Communist Party member, wrote above a photo of the protesters. “Rather than strengthening security, we should ensure safety by removing the base.”
