As the world focuses on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the European-American confrontation, Japan has quietly completed a major shift in its maritime power system.In August 2025, the Japan Defense White Paper and the latest reports of the U.S. Department of Defense show that Japan has officially owned seven aircraft carrier platforms with fixed-wing aircraft carrier capabilities. According to the Japanese media survey, more than 61 percent of the Japanese population supports the construction of an independent defense system.In just five years, the contrast of strength in East Asian seas has changed, and the Western Pacific chessboard has re-washed.
"Quiet" changes at sea
At the end of 2024, in the outer seas of California, the Japanese aircraft carrier "Chao" successfully completed the vertical take-off test of the F-35B. The entire process was assisted by the U.S. military technical team, and the F-35B airflow data, deck thermal voltage distribution, shipping optical coupling and other parameters were shared by both sides.
Different from the past, Japan no longer hides its aircraft carrier trend. From "enhanced mobility" to "large multi-purpose combat platform", official statements have gradually diluted the color of "self-defense". Seven aircraft carrier platforms such as the Cloud, Gaia, Day-to-Day, Iranian and Large Corner are all equipped with the technical conditions for carrying the F-35B.
The new aircraft carrier platform is not "air shell".In the spring of 2025, in the US-Japanese joint fleet exercises, the Japanese "special mixed operation module" for the first time openly debuted: with the core, out of the cloud, together with the Zeus ships and several escort ships, formed three groups of independent operational groups, real combat subjects including electronic suppression, long-range strike, joint landing and other full processes. military experts evaluate that the Japanese Sea itself has the ability to conduct high-intensity maritime and aerospace coordinated operations in the direction of Taiwan, the South China Sea and Fiji.
U.S. warning and warning.
In 2021, when the U.S. Secretary of the Navy visited Japan, he publicly stated on Twitter that he had "boarded a Japanese aircraft carrier", triggering heated debate within the United States. Although U.S. officials subsequently clarified their words, the reality of aircraft carrier cooperation between the United States and Japan is unavoidable. The U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report in August 2025, clearly pointing out that the U.S. military and Japan have in-depth technical exchanges in carrier-based aircraft, deck modification, and data link docking.
The United States has adopted a "ambiguous strategy" for Japan's aircraft carrierization. On the one hand, the U.S. has allowed Japan to develop an aircraft carrier to share the defense pressure in the Asia-Pacific region; on the other hand, the Washington think tank has widespread concerns that if Japan forms an independent combat capability, it may weaken the U.S. military’s security dominance in the western Pacific.In 2025, the Foreign Policy magazine warned that Japan’s military autonomy tendency was becoming increasingly apparent, and that the traditional pattern of “depending on U.S. protection” had disappeared.
In February 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Shapro Momo visited the United States and signed the United States-Japan Joint Statement, but the statements avoided key issues such as the distribution of troops, equipment procurement, and alliance responsibilities. The US media generally believed that the Japanese-Japanese alliance, although firm on the surface, lost mutual trust rapidly.
Japan's new defense path
Japan's aircraft carrier transformation process will not be achieved overnight. Since the concept of "multi-purpose defense ship" was officially proposed in 2018, Japan has continued to invest in ship design, deck materials, shipborne systems, etc. In 2020, Japan's Ministry of Defense and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched an "Izumo"-level renovation project, and all processes were completed by local teams in collaboration with US and British experts. In 2022, the first batch of F-35Bs will arrive. After a year of adaptation and formation drills, the 2024 take-off and landing test will be fully passed.
The actual role of the aircraft carrier is far beyond the “defensive fleet.” Japan's 2025 defense budget has clearly included "regional air strike platforms" as core projects.The three sets of "special operation modules" can be flexibly rotated between the Southwest island chain, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Sea, with various capabilities such as electronic warfare, long-range counter-ship, joint landing.The analysis of the Japanese think tank "Modern Defense" pointed out that the Sea itself has the system conditions for multi-point deployment of troops and organizing multi-domain coordination within the first island chain.
While some scholars still call for “determined defense,” mainstream public opinion has seen “aircraft carrier” as a normal national security tool.
Global strategic shift under Russia’s impasse
In 2022, the situation in Russia and Ukraine will suddenly escalate. The resources of the United States and NATO will tilt towards Eastern Europe, and the European defense line will continue to lengthen. Three years later, the front line has reached a deadlock of exhaustion, and Russia remains solid. The United States 'strategic focus is forced to "fight on multiple fronts" and its direct investment in the Asia-Pacific region has been relatively weakened.
While Europe and the United States fully blocked Russia, Japan accelerated the process of aircraft carrierization.In October 2024, the "Gaher" completed tests in the outer seas of California, becoming the focus of global attention. U.S. analysts believe that Japan, taking advantage of the opportunity for U.S. strategic distraction, quietly completed the transformation of the "par aircraft carrier strike group".In August 2025, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command assessed that the Japanese Aircraft Carrier Corps has become a new type of maritime force in the Western Pacific that cannot be overlooked.
The security landscape in the Western Pacific is undergoing fundamental changes. Japan is no longer satisfied with the role of "protected person", but actively deploys in the region to enhance its strategic autonomy. In hot spots such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, Japanese quasi-aircraft carrier formations have participated in joint exercises many times, becoming a new variable in Asia-Pacific security.
The re-balance of the Asian maritime pattern
The number of global aircraft carriers has long been dominated by the United States, and it will still maintain the combat capability of 11 full-size aircraft carriers in 2025. However, the global deployment pressure of US military aircraft carriers is huge, and the actual available aircraft carriers in the Asia-Pacific direction are limited. The rise of Japan's quasi-aircraft carrier has effectively made up for the vacancy of US troops in East Asia. The US military continues to maintain its strategic influence on Japan through bases in Japan, data link docking and joint training.
Japan's aircraft carrier has also led to a regional arms race. In 2025, South Korea officially applied the upgrade plan for the "Singapore" class of bipartisan assault ships and launched a new generation of light aircraft carrier projects.China continues to promote the construction of Type 075 and 076 amphibious assault ships and Type 003 aircraft carriers, and the Asia-Pacific maritime power map is highly dynamic.
Japan's new-generation aircraft carrier is not the old "destroyer + helicopter" model. In 2025, Japan's domestic shipbuilding capabilities ranked second in the world, with a complete ship-based operational system, a drone synergy platform and the ability to integrate fleet data. In the joint US-Japanese exercise, the Japanese fleet for the first time achieved the F-35B and the drone "Bee Group" collaborative operation, and the technical content directly followed the U.S. main aircraft carrier.
The squad turns, the storm does not arrive.
In August 2025, the Western Pacific’s strategic chaos had been rearranged. While the United States is still the global maritime hegemon, Japan has completed the substantial breakthrough of the aircraft carrier squad through quiet technology accumulation and system innovation.
Japan is no longer just a "pawn in the alliance", but a participant with independent abacus.Although the United States has the permission, the alert psychology has never relaxed.In the new pattern of Asian maritime power, any wind blows may stir up a little wave.
The next decade in the western Pacific is destined to be turbulent and suspenseful. Who can really dominate this sea area, the answer is far from revealed.
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