US Navy flagship carrier USS Ronald Reagan leaves its Japan home port after nearly 9 years

By EUGENE HOSHIKO and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — A U.S. Navy strike group’s flagship aircraft carrier has left its Japanese home port, wrapping up nearly nine years of deployment in the Indo-Pacific, where it served a key role in the U.S. effort to bolster defense ties with Japan and other partners in the region. The departure of USS Ronald Reagan on Thursday saw family members and friends of the crew waving the vessel off and speeches by officers and the U.S. ambassador. It comes at a time of growing tension in the face of increasingly assertive China in the Indo-Pacific. The carrier will be replaced later this year by USS George Washington.