On April 7, 2008 (Lunar Calendar March 2, 2008), the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier departed to Japan to fulfill its defense commitments. The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "George Washington" planned to be deployed at the base of Yokohama, Yokohama County, Yokohama, Japan, leaving the base of Norfolk, Virginia, on the east coast of the United States on the morning of March 7, 2008 and planned to arrive in Yokohama in August. It will be the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to enter Japan after the atomic bomb attack. The U.S. Department of Defense said that regional security in the Western Pacific requires the deployment of the most advanced U.S. ships to play a deterrent effect.