The World - News from Sept. 17, 1989

A U.S. Navy ship’s visit to Nagasaki, the Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb at the close of World War II, turned sour when about 50 chanting protesters refused to allow the captain to approach a large memorial statue in Peace Memorial Park, reportedly because the ship might be carrying nuclear weapons. Capt. Peter Roberts of the frigate Rodney M. Davis instead placed a wreath about 100 feet from the statue. After he left, protesters trampled the wreath. Nagasaki Mayor Hiroshi Motoshima refused to accompany Capt. Roberts to the park because he would not state whether his vessel carried nuclear weapons. Longstanding U.S. policy precludes such disclosure.