Which heavy cruiser design would Japan standardise on?

If the Imperial Japanese Navy could replace all its heavy cruisers with one or two classes, which design would it choose?

He would expect it to standardise on the most modern design available, because that would best reflect current Japanese thinking.

Replacing all Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruisers with only one or two classes would begin with the most modern design available. The reason is institutional rather than a claim that one named class was universally superior: the latest design would best reflect Japanese thinking at the time of replacement. Several classes have legitimate strengths, which makes a specific choice difficult. The distinction here is between standardisation logic and a simple ranking of individual ships.