Japan unveils Izumo, its largest warship since World War II

 

(CNN)Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) has taken delivery of the Izumo, the largest Japanese military vessel to see service since World War II.

The warship was unveiled at a ceremony at the Yokusuka naval base near Yokohama, also home to the U.S Navy's Seventh Fleet.

The Izumo has a crew of 470, and with a standard displacement of 19,500 tones (24,000 tonnes at full load, according to military publication Jane's), it is as large as the storied Yamato-class aircraft carriers which battled U.S. naval forces in the Pacific theater of World War II. 

The wreck of one of the two Yamato-class carriers, the Musashi, was discovered early in March 2015 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

At 241 meters (791 feet) in length, the Izumo is 51 meters (167 ft) longer than the Hyuga, another helicopter carrier which was, until now, the MDSF's largest vessel.