Herman Posted October 28, 2005 Report Posted October 28, 2005 Japan to host nuclear U.S. carrier The Navy says the move is unrelated to efforts to base such a vessel in Hawaii By Gregg K. Kakesako gkakesako@starbulletin.com The Pentagon's decision to locate a nuclear aircraft carrier in Japan for the first time is not related to the ongoing campaign to home-port one at Pearl Harbor, Navy officials said yesterday. Pacific Fleet spokesman Jon Yoshishige said no decision has been made on whether the Navy will base a nuclear aircraft carrier in Hawaii. The Navy announced yesterday that the USS Kitty Hawk -- one of its two remaining non-nuclear carriers -- will leave Yokosuka in 2008 and be decommissioned. It will be replaced by one its nine nuclear carriers. Although the Pentagon did not name the Kitty Hawk's replacement, Japanese newspapers have said for the past few weeks it would be the USS George Bush, named after the former president. The decision by Japan to allow the U.S. Navy to dock a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japanese waters reverses a long-cherished national policy. There has always been opposition within Japan on basing a nuclear carrier at a country where atomic bombs were dropped 60 years ago, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by U.S. bombers. Although the head of the Pacific Fleet, Adm. Gary Roughead, has declined to say whether he supports home-porting a carrier at Pearl Harbor, his two successors -- Adms. Thomas Fargo and Walter Doran -- have endorsed such a move. Yoshishige said the Navy has not completed a $1.8 million internal study started three years ago to examine the issue. Seven years ago the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii estimated that Hawaii would gain $375 million annually with the creation of 4,200 jobs from berthing a carrier here. The Pentagon, in its announcement, said that since 1964, U.S. nuclear-powered warships have visited Japanese ports more than 1,200 times. Last summer, an independent commission favored shifting the Navy's nine nuclear carriers to Hawaii as part of a U.S. military force to provide a hedge against a range of threats in the Pacific. Quote
Herman Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Posted October 28, 2005 U.S. Navy plans nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka; city outraged 10/28/2005 The Asahi Shimbun The U.S. Navy said it will station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, starting in 2008, drawing immediate outrage and bewilderment in the city. The warship will replace the conventional aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, which will retire in 2008, at the Yokosuka Naval Base. The central government welcomed the Navy's plan, saying the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will contribute to the security of Japan. "We think that the maintenance of U.S. Navy's presence around Japan will contribute to Japan's peace and security," Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said in Tokyo on Friday. "The Japanese government appreciates the plan." But the reaction in Yokosuka was much different. Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya said the city definitely opposes the plan, and criticized the way the decision was handled. "The fact that the announcement was made without any prior word makes us wonder if the feelings of our city were taken into account," Kabaya said. "Anxieties that residents of the city and Japanese as a whole have toward anything nuclear remain strong, which we have emphasized to both governments." The Navy made the announcement Thursday, apparentlyspurred by the agreement reached by Japan and the United States the day earlier on realigning U.S. forces in Japan. According to the U.S. Navy's announcement, the Kitty Hawk's replacement will be one of the nine Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The Navy did not say which one will be stationed in the city. The Navy said the security environment in the Western Pacific has created a growing necessity for the forward deployment of its most capable warship. It also said the stationing of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Yokosuka will enable the Navy or integrated troops to quickly respond to emergencies and, as a result, conduct high-level attacks and other operations. The U.S. Navy has replaced aging aircraft carriers with more advanced vessels in its long-term plans. Therefore, it is inevitable for the Navy to replace the old Kitty Hawk with the most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, it said.The aircraft unit to be stationed on the nuclear-powered carrier will be the same as the one currently assigned to the Kitty Hawk, it added. Concerning the Japanese resentment toward nuclear-powered warships, the Navy noted that nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have visited Japanese ports more than 1,200 times since 1964. It also said that the U.S. government will keep its promise to the Japanese government that U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be operated safely at Japanese ports. When U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers visit ports in the United States, they must abide by strict rules on safety measures and procedures. The Navy said those warships abide by similar rules when they make port calls in other countries. Machimura was informed of the plan by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer on Thursday evening. "The United States believes that a nuclear-powered carrier forward deployed in the Western Pacific will significantly contribute to the peace and stability of Japan, the United States and the entire region," Schieffer said Friday morning in Tokyo. "In making our decision, we took into account the sensitivity of the people of Japan to a nuclear-powered warship. We want to assure all concerned that this carrier can and will be operated safety in Japanese waters." His words did not convince Mayor Kabaya."We will urge the Foreign Ministry to reconsider the plan," he said. "We strongly demand the stationing of a conventional aircraft carrier."(IHT/Asahi: October 28,2005) Quote
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