London port call

"The JS Kashima, a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessel, sails under Tower Bridge during a visit to London on Wednesday."

Being towed by a tugboat and "sailing" seem to have different meanings in MY head...

Imperial take over planned?

When this ship visited NYC, it had a minor scrape with the QE2, so the tug may be a precaution. I've not seen any ships of that size go under the Tower Bridge on my London visits.

Hope the crew has a bit of fun there. London can be a fun place.

Quote taken from the Royal Navy's official Facebook page.

Konnichiwa, Kyokujitsu-ki...

Welcome to the rising sun flag - the Japanese ensign, as flown by JS Kashima and Shimakaze of the Japanese Maritime Defence Force, paying a rare visit to the UK.

The cadet training ship and destroyer are on a global training/goodwill mission, Training Cruise 2022, which brings them to the UK for about a week.

They joined forces with HMS Mersey and Enterprise for four hours of combined training off Portland Bill, before Shimakaze made for Portsmouth and Kashima for the Pool of London.

Both Japanese ships did some joint training exercises with two Royal Navy vessels, before splitting off. With JS Shimakaze heading for Portsmouth Naval Base (Home of the Royal Navy) and the JS Kashima headed for London, where it is berthed next to HMS Belfast. A light cruiser that served in WWII and is now a museum ship.

It is great to see the continued growth of friendship and cooperation on global security between Japan and the UK (my home country)

William BjornsonToday 07:43 am JST

"The JS Kashima, a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessel, sails under Tower Bridge during a visit to London on Wednesday."

> Being towed by a tugboat and "sailing" seem to have different meanings in MY head...

It's probably being led through the channel by the tugboat. The tugboat pilot should be familiar with the waters and can help the ship avoid traffic, shallow areas, buoys, etc. The write up is not exactly correct also as it is clearly not a sailing ship but a powered vessel, however, the term ''sailing" can still be used.

William Bjornson

Being towed by a tugboat and "sailing" seem to have different meanings in MY head...

Nope. She's clearly not under tow. The tugboat is clearly not made up to Kajima with any lines and is merely escorting her up river to her berth. Once they arrive at the pier the tugboat will affix lines to the warship to help her maneuver into her berth, but there's no towing going here.

YrralToday  03:45 pm JST

Kari,who can Japanese provide security for,the British empire fell, because lack of military power

So, how's the Japanese empire doing again? Pot, kettle, black.

I guess at least Japan has learnt to build smaller ships that are actually serviceable, while rather ironically believing diesel powered submarines are the way to go... Let's see how that works out in the future.

Nice! I toured the JS Kashima when it docked in Tampa, FL ~2011. It is an impressive ship.

Welcome to the UK.

The crew should have a good run ashore, though it might come as a bit of a culture shock.

Virtually no one wearing a mask!

Great photo, shore leave is going to be a bark.

Little or no public transport, so I hope the crew have stocked up with bicycles.