The streets are deserted after 6 p. Although 95, people live here, it feels as if there are only a couple hundred. But the quiet atmosphere and languid pace belie the fact that Maizuru is home to the only major Maritime Self-Defense Force base in the region and only km from North Korea.
It was likely in order to monitor activity at the base that a suspected North Korean spy vessel approached the area in late March before being chased away.
Maizuru is geographically divided into two sections. Here, ships arrive from all over the world, including North Korea and Russia, for trade. Satoshi Takemura, the base commander. Stationed at Maizuru are the 3rd Escort Flotilla, which includes five destroyers. Among these are the Haruna and the Myoko, the two ships that chased the suspected North Korean spy boat in March. It was the 7,ton Myoko that fired on the boat, the first such action by a Japanese naval vessel since World War II.
In addition, the base includes a minesweeper flotilla, communications station, ammunition supply depot, counterintelligence unit and recruit training center. Yamanaka said the city has agreed to pay for construction of a new helicopter landing pad, which will be completed in a couple of years. The helicopter pad will serve helicopters already assigned to ships at the base. Although there is increased concern about security in the Sea of Japan, at present, ships from the base do not go out on patrol every day.
Asked about training to counter terrorist attacks, Takemura said MSDF personnel are trained in counterintelligence, but neither the base nor the MSDF in general has the specific types of antiterrorism training that other forces in other countries have, nor is there an equivalent of the U.
