The U.S. Navy recently announced a decision to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, dismaying residents of the area. Following the decision -- made in conjunction with the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan -- the mayor of Yokosuka, the prefectural governor and other local officials urged the U.S. government to continue keeping a conventionally powered carrier at the base.
As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attaches great importance to the Japan-U.S. defense alliance, Japanese people are watching closely which side he will favor -- the United States or Japanese local-government authorities.
In 1966 the submarine Snook became the first U.S. nuclear-powered warship to visit Yokosuka. In 1973 the conventionally powered aircraft carrier Midway visited Yokosuka, touching off Japanese opposition against moves to deploy the carrier there. Authorities on both sides tried to allay Japanese concerns by promising that the carrier would remain in Yokosuka for only a few years. The promise was broken as Yokosuka became a carrier home port.