article_snippet: (CNN)Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) has taken delivery of the Izumo, the largest Japanese military vessel to see service since World War II.
article_snippet: the largest Japanese military ship since the Second World War was unveiled at a ceremony at the Yokusuka naval base near Yokohama, also home to the U.S Navy's Seventh Fleet.
article_snippet: The Izumo has a crew of 470, and with a standard displacement of 19,500 tones (24,000 tonnes at full load, according to military publication Jane's), it is as large as the storied Yamato-class battleships which fought U.S. naval forces in the Pacific theater of World War II.
article_snippet: At 241 meters (791 feet) in length, The Izumo is 51 meters (167 ft) longer than the Hyuga, another helicopter carrier which was, until now, the MDSF's largest vessel.
article_snippet: The Izumo proves that Japan has the technical capabilities and demand to develop aircraft carriers.
article_snippet: We are not thinking about using this as an aircraft carrier," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said, saying that the lack of hangers and service bays, along with a deck unsuitable for takeoffs and landings, meant that The Izumo wasn't designed for fixed-wing aircraft.
article_snippet: Defense Minister Gen Nakatani also downplayed China's suggestions that the size of the Izumo represented an escalation of Japan's military ambitions, telling CNN that although it is the biggest Japanese military ship since World War II, it is only a fifth of the size of the USS George Washington.
highlights_snippet: The ship, named the Izumo, is the largest Japanese military ship since the Second World War .
  