Study Concludes that Japan Izumo-class Vessels able to operate F-35B

The Defense Ministry commissioned a study into the possible conversion of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier into a full-fledged aircraft carrier in case Japan was required to provide rear-line support for a U.S.-led war.
The ministry in April 2017 asked Japan Marine United Corp., a Tokyo-based company that built the vessel, to look into ways to improve the capabilities of the Izumo.
Japan Marine United submitted its report to the Defense Ministry in March and the ministry released details, with some bits blacked out, on April 27.
The report states that the Defense Ministry's precondition for the study was to look into how the Izumo could be used to provide rear-line support to the U.S. military.
The company was asked to provide estimates for the cost and construction schedule if changes were made to allow U.S. F-35B stealth fighter jets to land vertically on the deck and to use elevators to transport aircraft to their hangars.
asahi