The simplified Ikoma hull could be built more quickly than the finer Unryu form, but its shape probably sacrificed some efficiency and speed. Kasagi was about 84 percent complete when work stopped in April 1945, while Aso stood near 60 percent and Ikoma had also advanced before cancellation. In purely shipyard terms, those three carriers could plausibly have been completed during 1945. Strategically, however, Japan had no air groups to place aboard them and faced rapidly growing Allied power near the home islands. With the war in Europe over, additional Allied forces could move east through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal instead of going around Africa, worsening Japan's timing problem. The comparison shows why percentage complete is not enough to judge procurement value: a hull must arrive with aircraft, trained crews, escorts, fuel, and an achievable mission.
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Nearly finished carriers that Japan could not use
Kasagi, Aso, and Ikoma might have been completed in 1945, but absent air groups and advancing Allied power made more empty decks strategically pointless.