Japan residents protest against U.S. warship plan

TOKYO (Reuters) - More than 10,000 people marched by a U.S. navy base near Tokyo on Saturday, calling for the Japanese government to stop the deployment of a nuclear-powered warship for the first time to Japan, rally organizers said.

The protest by local residents and activists against basing the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Yokosuka, 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Tokyo, came amid growing concerns safety after a fire on the ship in May.

"The U.S military does not disclose any information on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's structure, as well as its navigation and accident records," said Masahiko Goto, a lawyer who participated in the protest.

"This is the same as bringing a nuclear reactor into another country. Something is wrong here. The Japanese government is sacrificing the local residents' safety for its national interests."

The USS George Washington was originally scheduled to be deployed to Yokosuka in August, but its arrival is likely to be delayed due to the fire, which left one sailor with minor burns, Japanese media have reported.

It will become the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be stationed in Japan, the only country to suffer atomic bombing at the end of World War Two.

Earlier in the week, the commander of U.S. forces in Japan acknowledged local concerns but said those voices were a minority.

"I think that the majority of the Japanese people and the majority of the people where it will be home ported... are looking forward to the arrival of this very significant improvement in our capability to defend Japan," Lt. Gen. Edward Rice told reporters on Tuesday.

Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under the U.S.-Japan security alliance, a pillar of Tokyo diplomacy, but friction with local communities often occurs.

Residents were angered earlier this year in Yokosuka, where about 2,800 U.S. military personnel are stationed, after a sailor was arrested in April on suspicion of murdering and robbing a taxi driver.

(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Alex Richardson)