Pain, anger linger in Ehime Maru town

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

UWAJIMA, Japan — The haze that hangs in the air here matches the mood that has been keeping the people of Uwajima in a fog for weeks.

The southwestern Japan town of 65,000 residents will welcome families returning from Hawai'i today, but the void left by those missing since the sinking of the Ehime Maru has taken its toll.

Families of the missing four teenagers, two teachers and three crewman left Hawai'i yesterday after testimony ended in the Navy's court of inquiry.

The sub crew's acknowledgement of its mistakes has done little to ease their pain.

"We're really sorry about them," said Tsutao Hashimoto, a fisherman who works daily from the dock where the Ehime Maru was based. "From a Japanese point of view, we can't understand."

The questions linger: Why did this have to happen? And what will happen to those responsible?

Masayuki Shimizu has been watching the news. He has seen Cmdr. Scott Waddle, the former skipper of the USS Greeneville. He has heard Waddle's apology and his testimony claiming he was responsible for the Feb. 9 tragedy.

From his vegetable stand on the edge of Uwajima, Shimizu said Waddle finally satisfied the community's desire to see him take the fall for the accident that claimed the lives of nine people aboard the Uwajima Fisheries High School's training ship.

Takeo Akimoto, who lives next to the high school, said the prolonged court of inquiry before Waddle took the stand had been frustrating.

"Everyone knows it's 100 percent the fault of the submarine," he said. "He (Waddle) should take responsibility, but we don't really push him. He's not the only one being blamed."

This week is spring break at the fishery high school, one of dozens of schools across Japan that send fishing vessels to Hawai'i each year as both training and rites of passage for young men.

The school's lobby has models of its fishing ships encased in glass. The model of the Ehime Maru is by the entrance, close enough for everyone to catch a glimpse of each time they enter and leave the building.

Down the road from the school on the edge of the bay, a 19-year-old who identified himself as "T.H." said there is plenty of blame to go around. He blames all of America.

"I believe some people start hating Americans because of this," he said as he worked in his garden beside Uwajima's port, where families last saw their loved ones.

T.H. went to the same elementary school and junior high as the boys. He grimaced several times between exaggerated pauses and looked at the ground when asked to give his full name. He said he was ashamed to represent Uwajima by his harsh words.

Time might help ease his hateful feelings, he said, but he doubted it.

The pain was clear on his face.

"It's really difficult," he said, lowering his head as if the haze above him was too heavy. "It's just unbelievable."

Interpreter Fujiko Lowry contributed to this report.