A dispute over whether to accept a plan to let the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington use Yokosuka as its home port seemed to have been settled when the municipal assembly rejected a proposal to hold a referendum on the subject.
But uneasiness and opposition among Yokosuka citizens was rekindled after the carrier caught fire off the South American coast May 22, resulting in the postponement of a ceremony for the George Washington to replace the conventionally powered Kitty Hawk in Hawaii, originally set for early June.
Gloom has been cast over the planned realignment of the U.S. forces stationed in Japan by this incident as well as by the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly election held June 8, in which opposition forces garnered a majority for the first time in 16 years. Okinawa is home to three-quarters of the American military bases in Japan.