US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk ends mission in Japan

The US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk yesterday ended a decade in Japan, opening the way for a controversial nuclear-powered ship to replace it in August.
On a sunny morning, hundreds of people gathered in Yokosuka, a port on Tokyo Bay, to see off the only US aircraft carrier permanently deployed overseas.
As people on land waved and held up a farewell banner, sailors in white uniforms on the USS Kitty Hawk formed the shape of the Japanese word "Sayonara," or "Goodbye."
The aircraft carrier, which heads to Hawaii and will be retired, has been deployed here since 1998.
With a capacity to carry more than 5,000 crew, the Kitty Hawk's missions included deployment to the Arabian Sea in support of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The Kitty Hawk contributed to the peace and stability of Japan and Asia for 10 years," said Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya. "I wish it a safe voyage as it completes its mission.