Japan assigned its largest warship JS Izumo to escort a U.S. Navy supply ship off the coast of Japan on May 1. But Mainichi Shimbun says the deployment is largely symbolic as the helicopter carrier’s weapons are for self-defense purpose only.
By Kaijō Jieitai （海上自衛隊 / Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force） (http://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/formal/jmp/201612.html) [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons