LIGHTS GO OUT IN SASEBO ~ |
War generally means profit bonanzas for many kinds of business. But Sasebo port in Nagasaki Prefecture, where a big U.S. naval base is located, has been hard hit by the war in Vietnam, reports the: June 3 Japan Times. .
In February "when America began bombing North Vietnam," _ supply ships and mine sweepers "steamed out of the port."
With the Americans gone, neon lights in the “entertainment district" were darkened. Some 600 hostesses and 300 waiters were thrown out of jobs. .
"In Sasebo port," explains the gen Times, "there are exclusive bars for U.S. servicemen and abou 000 en ertainment houses, There are. also barbers, taxis, realtors and others who cater to servicemen," It is estimated that about. 50,000 persons, or one= fourth the. population of Sasebo, depend on the naval base for an
income,
How the next turn in the war will affect the fortunes of Sasebo is not predicted. Hideyoshi Mizumoto, head of the "A-Class
= L9=
Caterers Association," said, “We will. have to change to some other business if American servicemen do not come back." He hoped that U.S. nuclear submarines might visit Sasebo.
Most of the Japanese people have been demanding that Washington's nuclear pig boats stay out of Japanese harbors. They remind the country too grimly of how the last big scramble for the profits of war ended,
AN