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An active shooter was reportedly on the loose Thursday morning at an American naval base in Japan, the commander of the base confirmed.

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Two minesweepers that arrived here on temporary rotation last summer will make a permanent home in Sasebo, the U.S. Navy announced Wednesday. The USS Avenger and USS Defender, both from San Diego, will remain here after a review found it would be better to keep the two minesweepers in Sasebo rather than regularly rotate ships in from the United States, the Navy said. Both ships had been in Sasebo for about six months and will join the base’s two other forward-deployed mine ships, the USS Patriot and the USS Guardian. The change was not due...

Video footage (clip) of SM-3-armed Japanese AEGIS destroyers putting to sea, heading out for possible confrontation with North Korean ICBM missile in the next few days.Go here, hit arrow on the orange box, just below the aerial photo of the crafts leaving port here in Japan.

TOKYO — A ship commander and executive officer at Sasebo Naval Base were relieved of command due to a loss of confidence, the Navy announced Friday. Cmdr. John Zuhowski was relieved Thursday of command of the USS Tortuga, an amphibious assault ship, by Rear Adm. Richard Landolt, of Commander Task Force 76, according to a news release. Lt. Cmdr. Dennis Burke, the ship’s executive officer, was also relieved, the statement said. Both Zuhowski and Burke remain on active duty and face no loss of rank or punishment, according to Lt. Denver Applehans, spokesman for the task force. Applehans said he...

2 killed in gym rampage / Gunman also wounds 5 in shooting at Sasebo sports club The Yomiuri Shimbun NAGASAKI--Two people were shot dead and five others, including two girls, were wounded by a man who opened fire with what appeared to be a shotgun at a sports gym in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Friday evening, the police said. The man apparently opened fire as he entered the building through the main entrance on the second floor. He fired several shots into the swimming pool on the same floor, where a swimming class for primary and middle school students was...

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Sasebo Naval Base is “the most important strategic” U.S. Navy base in Japan, Rear Adm. James D. Kelly, commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan, told about 300 sailors gathered for an all-hands call here Tuesday. The southern Japan base is closer to the Koreas and China than the other five CNFJ facilities, he said, adding that Sasebo’s location, its harbor’s natural safety and the quality of its port facilities make Sasebo a key site. Kelly held the all-hands call in the Showboat Theater during his first trip to Sasebo since taking command about nine weeks ago....

ABOARD USS PATRIOT, At Sea (NNS) -- Three U.S. 7th Fleet ships took part in the first minesweeping countermeasures operation exercise between the U.S. and Russian navies July 5. USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), commanded by Cmdr. John T. Lauer III, with USS Patriot (MCM 7) and USS Guardian (MCM 5) under Mine Countermeasures Division (MCD) 11 Commodore, Cmdr. Kurt E. Hedberg, participated in the bilateral training exercise between the two nations, and to observe the paving out and retrieving of the large magnetic cable used to neutralize assorted types of explosive mine ordnance. “It is a privilege for me...

/begin my translationU.S. Mulls Stationing 2 Carriers in Japan Tokyo: Yonhap News05/05/05 As a part of reorganizing overseas deployments, U.S. military is considering the Sasebo naval base as the home port for two carriers which will be deployed in the Western Pacific, according to Tokyo Shimbun, quoting a U.S. military source in Japan today. The source also disclosed that U.S. military asked Japan to permit the use of Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Perfecture as the living quarters for carrier-based aircraft crews.  U.S. government plans to deploy two aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific. Pearl Harbor has been the leading candidate, while U.S. have...