Comment on Instapundit: "Japan is loading up on F-35s for an aircraft carrier meant to check China."

Sure it's a "Helicopter Destroyer." If you fly a helicopter near it then the F-35 can shoot it down. For operations in the seas within 3,000 nm of Japan, which is to say from the home waters to Singapore, Anchorage Alaska, or Honolulu Hawaii, two smaller carriers operating with support from silent non-nuclear submarines and ground based air can work. A third carrier will be needed so that two are always available with normal maintenance and training cycles. The number of combat sorties that two decks together can generate is significantly more than twice what one deck alone can perform. It is actually more cost effective to operate more carriers. Recently Japan has followed China in showing a presence in the Indian Ocean. In the event of combat with China though I would think that these assets would be kept closer to home. The Japanese do not have the large carriers and submarines with nuclear propulsion that give the endurance and range for combat on a global scale. If Japan can conduct ASUW and ASW operations in the South China Sea, support USN operations, and defend her own territory then that is enough. If needed they can be part of a response to aggression against the Republic of Korea and potentially threaten a blockade of China's ports. Within the range that I gave, roughly 3,000 nautical miles or 8 days travel at a standard bell of 15 knots, the emerging Japanese forces can serve well.