How Japan could release American strength for the Atlantic

What Japanese ships should be sent to the Atlantic?

Japan might contribute more by taking over Pacific watch duties and freeing U.S. forces, with some ASW escorts or merchant conversions added later.

Rather than sending a large Japanese task force across the world, alliance commanders could substitute Japanese surveillance and anti-submarine forces for U.S. units in the Pacific. That theater substitution releases American ships for the Atlantic without abandoning watch over Soviet Pacific forces. Some Japanese helicopter and anti-submarine escorts might still deploy west if the situation required them. Japanese or South Korean shipbuilding capacity could also accelerate merchant-carrier conversions and provide additional shipping, making industrial support as important as direct combat deployment.