Japan mayor agrees to host nuclear-powered ship

TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) A Japanese mayor dropped his opposition to hosting a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier today -- a proposed deployment that had sparked public worry about safety.

The move was agreed by the Japanese and U.S. governments in October, but Ryoichi Kabaya, mayor of Yokosuka, 45 km (28 miles) south of Tokyo, had opposed it because of local fears over the first nuclear carrier to be deployed in Japan.

Today he changed tack and said he believed it was inevitable the ship would be brought to the city's naval base.

US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer and Japan's top government spokesman Shinzo Abe both welcomed Kabaya's announcement.

''We would like to thank Mayor Kabaya for his understanding of the government's stance,'' Abe told reporters.

The United States wants the nuclear-powered vessel to replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a diesel-powered aircraft carrier scheduled to be decommissioned in 2008.

''We are committed to maintaining the impeccable safety record of America's nuclear-powered carriers,'' Schieffer said in a statement. ''The US government will continue to listen and seriously consider the views of local residents and political leaders regarding this deployment,'' he said.

Japan is host to about 50,000 US troops, and military bases are often unpopular with local residents, who complain of noise, pollution and crime.

REUTERS CH KP1749