A Navy security officer stands guard outside Naval Hospital Yokosuka at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on May 7, 2026. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The naval hospital at this base south of Tokyo shut down Thursday morning following a report of a suspicious package that was deemed no threat several hours later.
U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka reported a suspicious package around 8:33 a.m. Thursday, leading to an evacuation of the immediate area “out of an abundance of caution,” base spokesman Justin Keller told Stars and Stripes by text Thursday around 4 p.m.
“The package has been determined to not be a threat and an all clear has been issued,” he said. “We are grateful to our first responders and partners in their response effort.”
Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the situation, he added.
“The hospital has begun procedures to return to normal operations, and USNH Yokosuka will resume normal patient services tomorrow,” according to a 5 p.m. Facebook post.
Patients affected by the closure should have been contacted by their provider or clinic staff for rescheduling. Those who were not contacted should call the hospital appointment line at DSN 243-5352.
The post also said hospital emergency room services have resumed normal operations in the regular location.
The hospital, which serves the homeport of the U.S. 7th Fleet, announced that it ceased patient services “due to facility concerns on site,” according to a 10:16 a.m. post on the hospital’s official Facebook page.
Fire trucks lined up about 250 feet from Naval Hospital Yokosuka during an undisclosed situation that closed the facility at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on May 7, 2026. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Yokosuka Naval Hospital at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, seen here on March 31, 2026. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)
All appointments were canceled, and emergency room services were moved to a building across parking lots from the main hospital, according to the post and subsequent updates.
At an incident command center in a parking lot near the hospital, dozens of sailors, civilians and first responders were apparently addressing the situation inside around 2 p.m. Two individuals in hazmat suits were apparently undergoing decontamination.
Security officers established a perimeter 500 feet from the hospital in places, and blocked streets leading to the facility.
A temporary patient call center was established at DSN 243-8247 where patients whose Thursday appointments were interrupted may call for information.
The hospital, about 50 miles south of central Tokyo, provides outpatient and inpatient health care to about 43,000 eligible beneficiaries — service members and their families, according to a September 2020 Facebook post. It also provides limited services to a population of Defense Department civilian employees, contractors and retirees.
