Political scientist Jeffrey W. Hornung from RAND said in a commentary on DefenseOne that Japan will be wasting valuable resources in terms of manpower and money to convert the Izumo-class helicopter destroyers into fixed-wing aircraft carriers.
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
Hornung argued that converting both ships and equipping them with the F-35B will draw away almost eight percent of the defense budget. The Self-Defense Force will also be hard pressed to find the manpower to operate the ships and aircraft.
He suggests that Tokyo could consider having arming unmanned aerial vehicles deployed in remote islands to booster their defense.
Any defense capabilities that the Japanese Government has and willing to stand by us, is helpful, both for their country and ours. Espically in keeping the Oceans open !! We will be paying less, so why worry about Japan’s spaending ? Evidently RAND did NOT get the contract that they were putting all their money and stratedgy into !! Two sides to every story !! USN retired VET !!