News Story: Japan could turn Izumo into full carrier facing China threat - expert

China's development of fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31 may eventually force the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to adapt its recently commissioned Izumo helicopter destroyer into a full aircraft carrier, American defense expert Kyle Mizokami writes for the Week magazine based in New York.

Mizokami said the Izumo was designed originally as a destroyer that could carry helicopters. However, it is not an ordinary destroyer. "Destroyers are not 800 feet long nor do they displace 24,000 tons," Mizokami wrote. "They also don't have a flight deck that runs the entire length of the ship, aircraft hangars, and the capability to embark up to 14 helicopters." He said this is the reason most countries in the world, particularly China, consider the Izumo to be an aircraft carrier.

Read the full story at Want China Times