Admiral John Richardson arrived at the US naval base in Yokosuka on the outskirts of Tokyo to meet with bereaved families and officers who served on the USS Fitzgerald, said Commander Ron Flanders, press officer at the US Naval Forces in Japan.
“It’s an intimate meeting, very solemn grieving with families so we’re not even taking photos,” he said.
The navy destroyer was badly damaged in the collision with a Philippine-flagged cargo ship off the Japanese coast early on Saturday.
The bodies of the US sailors were found in flooded sleeping berths a day after the accident which tore a huge gash in the side of the warship.
Japanese investigators have been interviewing the Filipino crew of the Japanese-operated ACX Crystal, and hope to directly hear accounts of crew members of the Aegis-equipped USS Fitzgerald.