Japan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Skywatcher said:

What military commitments to ASEAN?!!

Doubling the defense budget would require spending $60 billion year. That adds up to $600 billion in the next ten years.

Japan already has a national debt of over $10 trillion dollars. You can't add on 6% more, not when Japan also has to pay the pensions of millions of retirees.

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Abe is busy drumming up support for Japan as counterweight to China, and has received support from Philippines (an ASEAN country), and he will continue to rally support from other ASEAN members. If Abe is serious about reviving Japanese militarism, 1% GDP on defense wouldn't do it, and he will have to spend more. A lot more.

Blackstone said:

Abe is busy drumming up support for Japan as counterweight to China, and has received support from Philippines (an ASEAN country), and he will continue to rally support from other ASEAN members. If Abe is serious about reviving Japanese militarism, 1% GDP on defense wouldn't do it, and he will have to spend more. A lot more.

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I doubt Abe will dare talk about removing the present 1% ceiling. At the moment the government is trying to balance the budgetary deficit while reducing corporate tax percentage, hiking up consumption tax and re-interpreting article nine while he is at it. His popularity is plummeting and another unpopular executive order would no doubt push the balance totally against the present LDP regime in which no LDP party member would accept.

Even the re-interpretation of article nine faces tough scrutiny in which I predict a class action case will be filed against the government to seek arbitration if the executive office had overstepped their legal authority. This is the main reason why Abe did not define the details of his re-interpretation making it difficult for the court to make a clear ruling on this issue.

asif iqbal said:

Courtesy of Janiz I share this picture of JMSDF fiat tops on the right is the Izumo Class ready for sea trials and on the left is Hyuga Class under maintenance.

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The Izumo Class carrier is going to be a strong addition to the JMSDF. She will displace, full load, close to 30,000 tons, is 815 feet long, and has a beam of 125 feet.

The first, Izumo, DDH-183, was launched August 6, 2013, almost a year ago. Here are some more great, recent pictures from her outfitting, taking you around the exterior of the ship.


She should go on sea trials soon...while the second in class is already building.

Nice "Destroyer," Japan should build many more of them.

Blackstone said:

Nice "Destroyer," Japan should build many more of them.

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Actually, that is their 3rd such vessel.

The two

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are a little smaller, but basically the same configuartion as this new, larger

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The sister ship to the Izumo is already building, so they are going to have at least four of these vessels as it is.

With ten nuclear carriers, and ten+ large flat-deck amphibiuos assault vessels (each of which is larger than the Izumo), the US has twenty such vessels.

With four, the Japanese will have the second largest number...and will be tied with French for that distinction (Charles de Gaulle plus three Mistrals).

When the Indians finish their Vikrant (which was launched late last year) they will have three.

The British will have three with their two QEs and the HMS Ocean LHA once they all get both QEs finished.

The Italians have two, the Cavoiur and the Garibaldi. The Australians will have the two Canberras. Russia now has two with the Kuznetov and the new Vladivostok (Mistral derivitive).

All of those together equals the twenty that the US Navy has.

At some point we know the Chinese will build another, and probably ultimately 4-6 of them themselves.

Jeff,

Is there a post WWII tonnage and or vessel type restriction set on the Japanese, or is the decision to build smaller "carrier" type vessels classified as destroyers self imposed to not offend other nations in the region?

-Greg

Well I would class the Osumi Class as flat tops, they have a well deck and are classified as LST but no now door

They have a island they have a elevator although not big a small hanger and plenty of flat top deck space can't say it's a LPD can't say it's a LST more like a LHD

So I would say the following

2 x Izumo Class carrying the air wing F35B
2 x Hyuga Class carrying the V-22 tiltrotor units
3 x Osumi Class does the ASW sweeps

Plus we all know now that JMSDF is embarking on putting together a force equivalent to a Marine Expeditionary Units of 4,000-5000 marines this force is in the process of being established after lengthy training over the years with the USN

Maybe someone can do the maths but if we measure the dimensions in terms of flat top deck space JMSDF must be second to USN or very soon will be

Jeff Head said:

At some point we know the Chinese will build another, and probably ultimately 4-6 of them themselves.

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In addition to the carriers, China will also build an undetermined number of LHAs as well as additional LPDs. How many LHAs China will have is not clear, but it should be more than Japan could field.

93fiM5 said:

Jeff,

Is there a post WWII tonnage and or vessel type restriction set on the Japanese, or is the decision to build smaller "carrier" type vessels classified as destroyers self imposed to not offend other nations in the region?

-Greg

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As I understand it, they simply have a restriction within the constitution against building offensive weapons systems. So, they class these vessels as Helicopter carrying Destroyers (DDH) to ensure that they do not overtly violate that.

Jeff Head said:

As I understand it, they simply have a restriction within the constitution against building offensive weapons systems. So, they class these vessels as Helicopter carrying Destroyers (DDH) to ensure that they do not overtly violate that.

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It similar to what the British did when they built their first post war carriers and called them through deck cruisers to avoid domestic political backlash.
By the way JMSDF still officially calls all ships as escort vessels(護衛艦） and not warship（戦艦） to avoid the same issue.