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| Izumo shortly after being launched |
TOKYO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on Tuesday inspected some controversial Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) hardware and urged troops to continue to carry out their duties before boarding a U.S. aircraft carrier, in the new minister's first such visit to naval bases here.
Inada, who has been defense minister for less than a month, visited a U.S. naval base in the city of Yokosuka, in Kanagawa Prefecture, where she boarded the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. Prior to that she inspected the helicopter-carrier Izumo, the largest destroyer in the MSDF's fleet.
During her inspection of Izumo she urged MSDF personnel to continue to carry out their duties and pledged to bolster the Japan-U.S. alliance, stating that the relationship was important to peace and stability in the region.
The MSDF destroyer has been in the spotlight for being a de facto aircraft carrier, as the 248-meter vessel weighing 19,500 tons, while being able to accommodate 14 helicopters, is also believed to be able to launch the U.S. Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft as well as the U.S. military's F-35B fighter jets, from its lengthy flight deck.
Read the full story at Xinhua