More like a slap in the face to the Japaneese. I'm not sure thats wise if we want to keep a base there.
I don't think that a carrier named "Nimitz" would be perceived as some sort of insult.
General McArthur was revered in Japan; the Japanese granted a medal to General LeMay back in the 1960s; and from looking around the web, there are notes that Admiral Nimitz was active in rebuilding post-war relations with Japan. From the Wikipedia: After the war, he worked to restore good will with Japan -- the nation he did so much to defeat in the War -- by helping raise funds for the restoration of the battleship Mikasa, Admiral Heihachiro Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. From the Nimitz Museum: He also worked to restore goodwill with Japan by raising funds for the restoration of the Japanese memorial ship MIKASA and urging return of ancestral samurai swords.
I am pleased to hear that we have worked out placing a nuclear-powered carrier with the Koizumi government. (For what it is worth, Prime Minister Koizumi is from Yokosuka.)
You don't understand Japanese mentality very well.
They are not muslims that get insulted over everything.
They do in fact sometimes honor their opponent, as long as he is/was worthy of their respect. Even if defeated by that opponent. One of the reasons they chose to hurry up and surrender to the US was that they saw us as an honorable opponent. They were terrified of the Russians, who they saw in a different light altogether.
The Japanese are peculiar and you may find that what We think might be an insult, they may just shrug and be glad that they have a nuke ship at their disposal.