I saw this tonight, thought it was pretty interesting. I did a cruise in Yokosuka and saw firsthand how apprehensive the Japanese are about nuke power, understanably so.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/13014886.htm
Japan to harbor nuclear-powered carrier
LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - United States and Japanese officials have agreed to allow the Navy to station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan for the first time, the Navy announced Thursday.
Though American troops have been based in Japan since the end of World War II, the Japanese public has long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of concerns about possible radiation leaks. The decision comes 60 years after the United States brought the war to an end by dropping atomic bombs on a pair of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"The security environment in the Western Pacific region increasingly requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward," the Navy said in a statement. The deployment of the carrier, the Navy said, will "fulfill the U.S. government's commitment to the defense of Japan, and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East."
Nuclear-powered warships have visited Japanese ports more than 1,200 times since 1964. The Navy said the United States has provided firm commitments to the government of Japan regarding the safe use of Japanese ports by the nuclear powered warships, and it pledged to observe strictly all safety precautions and procedures.
This is the second deal to come to light this week between the two governments, in advance of high-level meetings Friday and Saturday at the Pentagon between U.S. Defense and State Department officials and Japanese military and foreign ministers. On Wednesday, U.S. officials struck a deal with Japan to build a heliport at an American base in Okinawa.
The nuclear-powered carrier would replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a diesel-powered carrier based in Yokosuka, Japan.
A Japanese Embassy official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kitty Hawk, commissioned in 1961, is the oldest ship in full active service in the Navy and the only American aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad. The new carrier would arrive in Japan in 2008, when the Kitty Hawk is scheduled to return to the United States and be decommissioned.
The Navy, in its statement, said the ship rotation is part of a long-range plan to replace older ships, while considering the "unpredictable security environment" in the Western Pacific.
It was not clear which nuclear-powered carrier would replace the Kitty Hawk. The Navy has nine active nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Another, named after former President George H.W. Bush, is being built.
Japan's prime minister was expected to discuss the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan when he meets President Bush next month.
The Marine base agreement, which would close the Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, and build a heliport at another base on the island, Camp Schwab, ran into opposition from the island's residents Thursday. Japan's defense chief predicted Tokyo would struggle to get their approval for the plan.
Critics of the U.S. bases support closing Futenma but oppose any new military construction. The agreement opens the way for high-level talks on Saturday in Washington on the broader realignment of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, part of the American effort to streamline its military overseas and create a leaner, more flexible fighting force.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/13014886.htm
Japan to harbor nuclear-powered carrier
LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - United States and Japanese officials have agreed to allow the Navy to station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan for the first time, the Navy announced Thursday.
Though American troops have been based in Japan since the end of World War II, the Japanese public has long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of concerns about possible radiation leaks. The decision comes 60 years after the United States brought the war to an end by dropping atomic bombs on a pair of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"The security environment in the Western Pacific region increasingly requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward," the Navy said in a statement. The deployment of the carrier, the Navy said, will "fulfill the U.S. government's commitment to the defense of Japan, and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East."
Nuclear-powered warships have visited Japanese ports more than 1,200 times since 1964. The Navy said the United States has provided firm commitments to the government of Japan regarding the safe use of Japanese ports by the nuclear powered warships, and it pledged to observe strictly all safety precautions and procedures.
This is the second deal to come to light this week between the two governments, in advance of high-level meetings Friday and Saturday at the Pentagon between U.S. Defense and State Department officials and Japanese military and foreign ministers. On Wednesday, U.S. officials struck a deal with Japan to build a heliport at an American base in Okinawa.
The nuclear-powered carrier would replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a diesel-powered carrier based in Yokosuka, Japan.
A Japanese Embassy official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kitty Hawk, commissioned in 1961, is the oldest ship in full active service in the Navy and the only American aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad. The new carrier would arrive in Japan in 2008, when the Kitty Hawk is scheduled to return to the United States and be decommissioned.
The Navy, in its statement, said the ship rotation is part of a long-range plan to replace older ships, while considering the "unpredictable security environment" in the Western Pacific.
It was not clear which nuclear-powered carrier would replace the Kitty Hawk. The Navy has nine active nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Another, named after former President George H.W. Bush, is being built.
Japan's prime minister was expected to discuss the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan when he meets President Bush next month.
The Marine base agreement, which would close the Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, and build a heliport at another base on the island, Camp Schwab, ran into opposition from the island's residents Thursday. Japan's defense chief predicted Tokyo would struggle to get their approval for the plan.
Critics of the U.S. bases support closing Futenma but oppose any new military construction. The agreement opens the way for high-level talks on Saturday in Washington on the broader realignment of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, part of the American effort to streamline its military overseas and create a leaner, more flexible fighting force.
Understandably so my ass.