Journalists on Wednesday were given a guided tour of the Izumo — Japan's largest flat-topped helicopter carrier — for the first time since the Defense Ministry revealed a controversial plan late last year to convert it so that it could handle fixed-wing aircraft — which critics and some opposition lawmakers say could make it capable of offensive operations.
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The pacifist postwar Constitution bans the possession of “attack aircraft carriers,” and calls for an exclusively defense-oriented posture. However, under a five-year defense build-up plan adopted in December, the 248-meter, 19,500-ton vessel will be undergoing a major remodeling to accommodate jet fighters, likely U.S.-developed F-35B stealth planes, which are capable of short take-offs and vertical landings.