First Nuclear Powered US Aircraft Carrier to Japan

Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa said his prefecture has accepted the U.S. plan to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at the naval port in Yokosuka in 2008, the first-ever nuclear powered carrier to be forward deployed in Japan.

The ship is the 102,000-ton USS George Washington (pictured at left). The governor said he decided to accept the new carrier after learning that Japan and the United States will take the utmost care to ensure the public's safety.

The USS George Washington is currently based in Newport News VA. It is a Nimitz class carrier; its overall length is 1,092 feet (332.85 meters); it carries 85 aircraft; and there are 3,200 ship crew members and 2,480 air crew members aboard.