Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia. The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military   cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in alliance  military moves. It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War II at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based. "A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage," said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier. The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned  in 2008. The new carrier will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology. Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region. "There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense," said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed. With such a powerful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens   _  .
are aware of its benefits to the country are anxious about its potential danger are curious about the advanced technology are against where the carrier will be based