Japan’s upgrading of a warship to become its first aircraft carrier since the Second World War has been criticised in China, raising questions about whether it violates the country’s post-war pacifist constitution.
The name of the newly upgraded Kaga has previously been criticised because a former ship with the same name was involved in the bombing of Shanghai and Tokyo’s motives for upgrading the ship have also been questioned.
After the ship was converted to an aircraft carrier, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Japan should “adhere to its defence-only policy” and be cautious in military development, “not the other way around”.
The Kaga entered service in 2017 as a helicopter carrier, but has now been upgraded to carry Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters.
The ship will undergo a second round of modifications to its hull in 2026-27 to help support its role as a carrier of fixed-wing warplanes.
Kaga’s sistership Izumo, commissioned in 2015, will also be modified in a process expected to finish in 2027. The two ships were commissioned as helicopter carriers that could be upgraded to carry fixed-wing fighters if needed.
After the upgrade, both ships will be able to carry 12 fighters and 16 helicopters. The Japanese government had already ordered 42 F-35Bs for the carriers, although it has not explained why it wants more planes than its current navy can carry.
China believes that the modification of the Izumo-class carrier violates Japan’s “Peace Constitution”, which does not allow Japan to possess offensive weapons, arguing that carriers can be used to strike targets on foreign soil.
Hua, from the Chinese foreign ministry, said the clause in the Japanese constitution – which renounces the right to wage wars – “is an important legal guarantee and symbol of Japan’s post-war path towards peaceful development, and a solemn commitment by Japan to the international community”.
Tokyo says its position remains unchanged, and the modified carriers are the minimum necessary for self-defence.
The government says F-35B fighter jets will not be deployed full-time on the Kaga and Izumo, so they will not be considered attack aircraft carriers, which are banned under Japan’s constitution, according to national broadcaster NHK.
When the upgrade plan was first made public in 2018, the then defence minister Takeshi Iwaya said that “the Izumo was originally designed as a multipurpose escort ship, so it wouldn’t pose any threat to other countries if fighter jets are deployed on it.”
Yoichiro Sato, professor in international relations at Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University in Japan, said the new carrier had only half the number of fighters China’s first carrier, the Liaoning, holds, adding: “It is more useful as an anti-submarine warfare platform carrying some helicopters as it originally was designated.”
