Yokosuka has long played a part in Japan's naval history. Commodore Matthew Perry's landing in the area in the 1850s initiated the country's modernization, and today it is the site of a major naval facility used by the United States and Japanese forces. During World War Two, it was spared the heavy bombing which was the fate of many other Japanese cities, as the US military had already chosen it as a post-war base location.Yokosuka is also the home city of previous Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. http://wikitravel.org/en/Yokosuka