By February 2018 reports described a Japanese purchase of roughly forty F-35Bs and a normal detachment of twelve to eighteen aircraft per ship. Eighteen is a useful number for sustaining aircraft in the air, on alert, and in maintenance rather than a measure of simple deck capacity. Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party also asked the government to study purpose-built carriers, showing that the debate already extended beyond converting Izumo and Kaga. Repeated F-35B operations required heat-resistant flight-deck treatment and reconstruction of the trapezoidal bow into a stronger, squarer form with more usable deck area. The ships were redesignated as multi-purpose escorts, preserving Japanese terminology while acknowledging a wider mission. Funding entered the 2020 budget, and US Marine Corps operations offered a way to train ship personnel before Japan's own aircraft became available.
Chapter · 31:42-35:10
Approval turned carrier potential into flight-deck work
Fighter numbers, deck heat treatment, a stronger bow, and US Marine Corps cooperation converted a political decision into an operating program.