YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE — U.S. 7th Fleet’s command ship, the USS Blue Ridge, arrived in Nagoya on Monday for a scheduled “friendship and good will” visit.

While in port, about 1,000 Blue Ridge crewmembers and staff participated in activities and cultural exchanges, according to a 7th Fleet press release.

The ship also is scheduled to visit Muroran, a port town on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, in early February.

But instead of rolling out the welcome mat, city officials there said last week that they wouldn’t interact with the Americans due to residents’ concerns about recent crimes involving sailors elsewhere in Japan. The city asked the U.S. Consulate to deny the port visit, but the consulate chose not to intercede.

Migrated