Japan unveils largest warship since World War II

AP ^ | Aug 6, 2013 | ERIC TALMADGE

[lefty-lie-spy]

A fat man assembly can be built in a day. I love physics.

[0.E.O]

A heavily-loaded one might find one helpful.

That's what the ski-jump flight decks are for. The U.S. has never gone that route.

[Mashood]

F-35B

[Robe]

Back in the day, mid '60's I was serving in the USN, one morning I saw two Japanese destroyers entering Pearl Harbor flying the “Rising Sun” Flags at their mast tops. I thought I could feel the rumble of our fallen shipmates shaking their fists in unison

I have a picture somewhere in a old album.

[jboot]

I was hoping for Akagi. But the current JMSDF naming convention is pulling from the Russo-Japanese war era. I would be willing to bet that Izumo's sister ship will be named Iwate

(Naming her Akagi would open a can of maritime tradition worms for her sister. For starters, the historical Kaga was not a true sister to Akagi. Both ships were unique classes. Worse, Kaga is not a proper "cruiser" name. Cruisers are named after unincorporated places, mostly scenic islands (Akagi, "Red Castle", is a volcanic rock off the east coast of Japan). But Kaga is an ancient prefecture, and is thus a battleship name. Tradition is hard to buck, especially in Japan. Then again, they could name their next garbage scow "Musashi"...I'm just guessing here.)

[jboot]

Nope, COGAG.

[jboot]

Jap libs won’t mind unless they stick a bronze Chrysanthemum on the bow. Then the bricks will fly!

[jboot]

There is an apocryphal story that a former prime minister was asked how long it would take Japan to obtain nuclear weapons if they were ever needed. He paused for a second and then answered "hours".

I don't know if it is true, but it would not surprise me a bit.

[tanknetter]

There’s definitely a subtle poke in this name. There was an Izumi Maru, ore war ocean liner that was subsidized with government money so long as she was designed to be converted to a carrier.

Which she was, becoming the Hiyo.

The Japanese have a pattern of this, naming the prior DDH’s after the Ise class battleship/carrier hybrids. There’s definitely a message being sent ...

[longtermmemmory]

live action movie was so-so.

needs a reboot.

[jboot]

LOL, I did not recall that detail abut Hiyo! Good catch. Wasn't Hiyo's sister Junyo converted from a German-owned liner named Scharnhorst? I can't see them using that name for Izumo's sister!

The prior class shares their names with both the Ise hybrid carriers and the Ise cruisers of the 1890s. So if anyone becomes outraged at the choice of names, one can always point to the older vessels. There is a very subtle politics involved in naming these ships.

[LibertarianLiz]

jeez, I dunno - seeing the Rising Sun makes me a little nervous myself

The Japanese are in a demographic death spiral. They have simply stopped having children, and, I believe, that they may not even be at replacement levels anymore. More seniors than young people, thus the stunning article a few months ago that the Japanese buy more adult diapers than childrens diapers. I don't think they will have the manpower to challenge anyone in any large way. But, with a ship like this they have a better chance of defending themselves if China decides to get aggressive.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wife and I toured Pearl Harbor a few years back. We motored out to the Arizona Memorial with a small group of mostly young Japanese and their even younger children.
I asked one fellow why he was there and he responded, “We came to see what our fathers and grandfathers did. We didn't believe it until we saw it up close.”

As we approached the wreck, I caught a whiff of Number 6 fuel oil which has been bubbling up since the attack in ‘41. One of the US Navy guys (in a uniform I mistook for USMC) said there was debate about what to do about the wreck’s ultimate failure (coming apart.)

One proposal is to build a sarcophagus around the ship's remains to hold it in place while continuing to allow burials of Arizona veterans who survived. The Arizona has been down for a long time and the Navy wants to preserve it but there is great sensitivity since it is a grave site.

[calex59]

As long as the name isn’t one of these:Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku, things should be just fine.

[jboot]

It has a reboot, and it is cracking good: Yamato 2199.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Thanks LL - was not aware!

[GATOR NAVY]

Is it a normal naval vessel flag for Japan?.......

Yes. The rising sun flag is the ensign of the Maritime Self Defense Force.

[Hot Tabasco]

....and it gets 52 miles per gallon!............

Can you water ski behind it?

[Red Badger]

Water ski? Hell, you can probably SURF!.................

[Red Badger]

Maye they could call it the Soryihurtyu..............