WASHINGTON (AFP) – .

The US Embassy in Tokyo expressed regret over a delay in informing the Japanese government that a US nuclear submarine would call at one of its ports on Monday, the State Department said..

"The USS Providence, a nuclear-powered submarine, made a brief visit to Okinawa on November 10," the State Department said in a statement..

"The (Japanese) Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised their concern about a delay in standard notification procedures, and the US Embassy in Tokyo has expressed regret over the delay," it added..

The Japanese foreign ministry said the USS Providence called at the White Beach Naval Facility in southern Okinawa prefecture from around 10:00 am until just before noon Monday without properly notifying Japan in advance..

"The United States must notify our government at least 24 hours before its nuclear submarines come to our ports," the foreign ministry said in a statement..

"We regret the latest incident that an American submarine came to one of our ports without a proper notification.".

Senior foreign ministry officials conveyed their grievances to their US counterparts in Tokyo and asked for an explanation..

It is a sensitive issue for the only nation to have been attacked by atomic bombs.

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