USA Today reports that “Japan and the United States staged a naval show of strength off Tokyo Bay on Sunday as they flashed a pair of powerful, flat-deck warships perhaps just days before the U.S. Navy plans to challenge disputed Chinese claims to territory in the nearby South China Sea.”  

“The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the JS Izumo, the largest warship Japan has built since World War II, highlighted a seagoing review by Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force that included 36 warships and dozens of military aircraft.”  

“Shortly after the ceremony, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the first serving Japanese leader to board a U.S. aircraft carrier when he flew to the Ronald Reagan by helicopter.”