A Long Time Coming? Japan Seeks Fixed Wing Aircraft For its Carrier Warship - The First Since World War II
Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff
Japanese Navy Izumo Class Carrier
Japan's government has long sought to restore its military capabilities and be allowed to participate more in overseas military operations. Since the commissioning of the Izumo class carrier warships in 2015 Japan's neighbors have long suspected the country has ambitions to develop an aircraft carrier fleet. While developing aircraft carriers would be contrary to Japan's Pacifist constitution, and the 27,000 ton Izumo class ships have thus been termed 'helicopter destroyers', the ships have always maintained the potential to operate short takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft such as the F-35B. This led to fears, particularly in China and the Koreas, that this would be the first step towards restoring a Japanese naval force for power projection abroad.
On December 26th 2017 the suspicions of Japan's neighbors, and of several military analysts, were at last confirmed when Japan expressed interest in purchasing F-35B fifth generation STOVL light multirole fighters. These fighters, which could easily operate from Japan's Izumo class helicopter destroyers, would in effect give Japan its first aircraft carriers since the fall of its empire. While Tokyo has long argued that the helicopter carriers are defensive weapons, and are thus not prohibited by the constitution, the development of a carrier fleet capable of deploying fixed wing combat aircraft would provoke serious debate domestically regarding the legality of the acquisition. While the Izumi class ships cannot operate more than 28 F-35 fighters each, the acquisition will be highly symbolic if it passes and could well set a precedent to facilitate the development of larger and more capable aircraft carriers. With the United States finding its capabilities increasingly overstretched, it remains eager for Japan to develop such capabilities to support its goals in the Asia-Pacific region, and has thus long lobbied for such steps to be taken towards remilitarization.
