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The Maritime Self-Defense Force's newest ship has a flight deck its entire length and is nearly the size of the Shokaku and Zuikaku aircraft carriers that took part in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, yet Japan insists it is not an aircraft carrier. With a length of about 250 meters and standard displacement of 19,500 tons, the Izumo is the biggest ship in the fleet. Up to nine helicopters can land on its deck at the same time. Even so, the Defense Ministry and MSDF insist the Izumo, which was launched last summer, is simply a destroyer capable of carrying helicopters. Media in China and South Korea played up the launching, calling the Izumo a "semi-aircraft carrier" and evidence of a rightward tilt in Japan's policies. Military journalist Shinichi Kiyotani said: "Under international standards, it is nothing less than an aircraft carrier. The government is gradually expanding its interpretation because it is afraid it could become a political problem." For its part, Jane's Fighting Ships, a reference book on all the world's warships released annually in Britain, describes the Izumo as a helicopter carrier. The Izumo is scheduled to replace the destroyer Shirane based at the MSDF base in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, in spring 2015. The Shirane has a standard displacement of 5,200 tons. The MSDF already has two other helicopter-carrying destroyers with standard displacements in excess of 10,000 tons: the Hyuga and the Ise. Another ship on the same scale as the Izumo is also under construction, meaning the MSDF will eventually maintain four of the large ships.
Read more here-
Despite appearances, Japan insists Izumo is not an aircraft carrier - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
Read more here-
Despite appearances, Japan insists Izumo is not an aircraft carrier - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun