Bush apologizes to Yoshiro Mori for sub tragedy

Bush apologizes to Yoshiro Mori for sub tragedy

TOKYO (AFP): U.S. President George W. Bush apologized to Japan on Tuesday through a special envoy, Admiral William Fallon, for the sinking of a Japanese trawler by a U.S. submarine off Hawaii.

Bush expressed "apology and profound regrets" over the Feb. 9 accident, in a letter handed over to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori by the vice chief of naval operations, a Japanese official said.

The letter also said Bush fully understood the "sorrow of the Japanese people" and that U.S. authorities would make a "full and transparent investigation" into the accident which left nine from the Japanese ship missing and presumed drowned.

Bush has already offered apologies to the Japanese people over the accident. The submarine USS Greeneville struck and sank the Japanese fishery training boat Ehime Maru off Oahu during a rapid surfacing operation.

Anger intensified in Japan following Washington's admission that civilian guests were at the helm of the nuclear-powered submarine immediately before the accident.

In a 30-minute meeting at his official residence, Mori asked the admiral to salvage the Japanese trawler and bring to light the cause of the accident, the official said.

Fallon told Mori that U.S. authorities were making preparations to raise the Ehime Maru.

Successor

In another development, Japan's ruling coalition on Tuesday sought to speed up the search for a successor to beleaguered Mori as his public support sank to another new low.

As calls for Mori's resignation grew within the coalition government, former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto acknowledged at a news conference that "the situation is very severe."

"Considering these opinions, we have to think about how to organize the convention" to be held by Mori's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on March 13, Hashimoto said.

The convention is widely seen as a key event, where Mori is expected to be pressed openly to step down by party members now campaigning for his resignation ahead of an upper house election in July.

Hashimoto, state minister in charge of administrative reform, is a possible contender to replace Mori, who has been under fire over gaffes and scandals.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma called for a general election to choose a new leader.

"When the time is ripe, we have to call general elections," Hiranuma told a separate news conference.

Chikara Sakaguchi, a state minister in the Mori cabinet and senior official of the New Komeito Party, the LDP's key coalition partner, moved closer to demanding Mori's resignation in urging him to accept the criticism.

Mori "has to accept the fact humbly," said Sakaguchi. "There is a reason for the fall" in public opinion polls. "It is necessary to erase the reason."

Fresh opinion polls showed on Tuesday public support for Mori plunged to devastating one-digit levels in February. T he nationwide survey by the Sankei Shimbun newspaper found the approval rating dropped to 6.9 percent in the month, down sharply from 18.2 percent in the previous survey in December.

It was the lowest approval rating since Mori took office in April last year. The disapproval rate shot up to 83.9 percent, up from 64.2 percent.

Mori has been savaged by the media and opposition leaders for continuing to play golf after learning about the submarine tragedy.