Izumo has been ordered to safeguard the U. S. Navy supply ship until they both reach the Pacific side off Shikoku.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has sent its largest warship, the helicopter carrier JS Izumo (DDH-183) , to escort a U. S. Navy supply ship transporting weapons, supplies and equipment to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) , which will take-up station in the Sea of Japan off the Korean Peninsula early this week.
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This is believed to be the first time JMSDF has deployed a warship to protect a U. S. Navy vessel. It was the U. S. Navy, however, that requested a JMSDF escort.
Upon orders of Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, the Izumo will depart the JMSDF’s Yokosuka port in Kanagawa Prefecture on the morning of May 1. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has authorized the Izumo to use its weapons when necessary but “minimally” to ward-off attacks by either North Korea or China.
The defense ministry said the Izumo will rendezvous with the U. S. Navy supply ship in waters off the Boso Peninsula near Tokyo. Izumo has been ordered to safeguard the U. S. Navy supply ship until they both reach the Pacific side off Shikoku, one of the four main islands of Japan, located to the south of the Japanese archipelago.
