After the recent accident between the nuclear submarine Greeneville and the Ehime Maru, we received various forms of assistance from the people of Hawaii and for this we are thankful from the bottom of our hearts. We were very much grateful to receive your words of comfort and words to give us courage when we were in deep grief. We were encouraged by your kind thoughts, and, slight though as it may be, we are thinking to look to the future.

The resentment with regard to this accident is definitely not something which is aimed toward the people of Hawaii and the American people. We are worried that, in our grief, we might have been somewhat thoughtless and impolite. If that is the case, we would like to deeply apologize.

We fervently pray that such a tragic, unreasonable incident will never happen again. It would be best if we work together to reach this goal.

Finally, please forgive us for being so late in sending you this thank-you letter to you.

From all of the families of the missing from the Ehime Maru.

March 20, 2001