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The waste is from the U.S. military's relief efforts following the March 11 disaster.
The materials include cleaning cloth and other items used to decontaminate aircraft, the officials said. They contain low levels of radioactive substances, most likely from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Sasebo officials were unaware of the materials until they received an inquiry from the media Thursday. They approached the Foreign Ministry, which later confirmed with the U.S. military that radioactive waste is being kept at the base.
The ministry told the city later Thursday that while the central government will handle the disposal correctly, Tokyo and Washington are still discussing details of how to do so, according to the Sasebo officials.
The city believes there are no safety concerns because monitors at six locations near the base have found no abnormalities so far.
Mayors of Hiroshima, Nagasaki angered with Washington over recent nuclear tests
(Mainichi Japan) May 23, 2011
The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have displayed a sense of distrust in Washington for its recent nuclear tests, it has been learned.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue jointly met reporters at the Hiroshima Municipal Government on May 22, expressing their concerns over the nuclear weapons performance experiments conducted in the United States in November 2010 and March this year.
Citing U.S. President Barack Obama's epoch-making speech calling for a nuclear-free world in Prague in April 2009, Hiroshima Mayor Matsui said, "We call upon the U.S. to withhold from any actions that could generate misunderstandings among those who are sincerely hoping for the elimination of nuclear weapons."
They were the first nuclear experiments in the world that have been disclosed since Matsui assumed office as Hiroshima mayor in April.
"We have yet to learn what significance the experiments have, but we cannot tolerate them if they are to lead to the development of new atomic weapons," said Nagasaki Mayor Taue. Subcritical Nuclear Experiment; U.S. Subcritical Nuclear Tests Are a Double Slap in the Face (YouTube)
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Hiroshima mayor hits U.S. subcritical nuke test
The first U.S. subcritical atomic test under President Barack Obama, who has called for a world without nuclear arms, drew harsh fire from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba.
"I am outraged by your trampling on the expectations and hopes of the A-bomb survivors and the vast majority of Earth's inhabitants, and, on behalf of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest," Akiba said in his letter to Obama, which was made available to the press after the U.S. carried out what is considered a routine test to verify the reliability and safety, in storage, of its atomic arsenal. It was the first such test since August 2006
"A subcritical nuclear test leading to the development of new nuclear weapons runs counter to the spirit of the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty), which you are working to ratify," he said.
The subcritical nuclear test, which took place in Nevada on Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Energy Department, clearly came as a shock to the mayor, who has supported Obama and initiated an antinuclear campaign using the president's name. Citing the first-ever participation by the U.S. ambassador to Japan in August's annual memorial service for A-bomb victims, Akiba renewed his request for Obama to visit Hiroshima.
Hiroshima Gov. Hidehiko Yuzaki also sent a letter of protest, and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue and Gov. Hodo Nakamura plan to follow suit.