Probe launched into four secret pacts with US

Under direct orders from the new administration, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials launched a comprehensive investigation Friday into secret pacts with the United States, including an accord to allow entry of U.S. ships and aircraft carrying nuclear arms into Japan. A team of 15 bureaucrats, who will be working under Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka, will look into 2,694 files related to the peace treaty between Japan and the U.S., 571 files related to the reversion of Okinawa and approximately 400 files stored at the Japanese Embassy in Washington. "We will be reporting the results of the investigation by the end of November," the ministry said in a statement. On the day of his appointment as foreign minister last week, Okada announced he ordered Yabunaka to file a comprehensive report on the secret Japan-U.S. pacts. Okada has been adamant about disclosing the documents, saying it will help the government build trust with the public.