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Japan unveils largest warship since World War II
AP ^ | Aug 6, 2013 | ERIC TALMADGE

Posted on 08/06/2013 5:26:58 AM PDT by Freeport

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) -- Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.

The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 meters (820 feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. Japanese officials say it will be used in national defense - particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions - and to bolster the nation's ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Though the ship - dubbed "Izumo" - has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan. For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Japan
KEYWORDS: armsbuildup; bhoasia; carrier
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To: Forward the Light Brigade

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


61 posted on 08/06/2013 7:39:34 AM PDT by lefty-lie-spy (Stay metal. For the Horde \m/("_")\m/ - via iPhone from Tokyo.g)
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To: PapaBear3625
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.

62 posted on 08/06/2013 7:46:49 AM PDT by 0.E.O
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To: skimbell

F-35B


63 posted on 08/06/2013 7:48:03 AM PDT by Mashood
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
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.

64 posted on 08/06/2013 8:10:52 AM PDT by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: Timber Rattler
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.)

65 posted on 08/06/2013 8:12:34 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: jaydubya2

Nope, COGAG.


66 posted on 08/06/2013 8:12:48 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

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


67 posted on 08/06/2013 8:14:24 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: 0.E.O
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.

68 posted on 08/06/2013 8:17:23 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: jboot

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 ...


69 posted on 08/06/2013 8:17:48 AM PDT by tanknetter
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To: corkoman

live action movie was so-so.

needs a reboot.


70 posted on 08/06/2013 8:21:09 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: tanknetter
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.

71 posted on 08/06/2013 8:25:16 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: Hegewisch Dupa
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.

72 posted on 08/06/2013 8:57:35 AM PDT by LibertarianLiz
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To: Robe
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.

73 posted on 08/06/2013 9:00:45 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks ("Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.")
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To: Freeport

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


74 posted on 08/06/2013 9:06:22 AM PDT by calex59
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To: longtermmemmory
It has a reboot, and it is cracking good: Yamato 2199.
75 posted on 08/06/2013 9:53:56 AM PDT by jboot (It can happen here because it IS happening here.)
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To: LibertarianLiz

Thanks LL - was not aware!


76 posted on 08/06/2013 9:54:27 AM PDT by Hegewisch Dupa
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To: Red Badger
Is it a normal naval vessel flag for Japan?.......

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

77 posted on 08/06/2013 9:54:58 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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To: Red Badger
....and it gets 52 miles per gallon!............

Can you water ski behind it?

78 posted on 08/06/2013 10:01:10 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (')
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To: Hot Tabasco

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


79 posted on 08/06/2013 10:16:44 AM PDT by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? Google your own name......Want to have fun? Google your friend's names........)
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To: calex59
Maye they could call it the Soryihurtyu..............
80 posted on 08/06/2013 10:18:51 AM PDT by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? Google your own name......Want to have fun? Google your friend's names........)
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