How Japan Built the 5 Warships It’s Giving the Philippines for Free

On 7 July 2026, the Philippines confirmed it will take five of Japan's Abukuma-class destroyer escorts: the first warships Japan has built and then handed to another navy. Why would a navy want ships that are 35 years old, and what does it really take to hand one over? This documentary follows one of them, JS Jintsū (DE-230), from Hitachi Zosen's yard at Maizuru in 1989 to her berth at Sasebo today. We look at how Japan built the six Abukumas at three yards (Mitsui at Tamano, Hitachi Zosen at Maizuru and Sumitomo at Uraga), why they were kept small, how their diesel and gas-turbine engines and hull sonar work, and what the 109-metre, 2,000-ton ships carry from bow to stern. Then the deal itself: the five-category rule that kept Japanese warships at home, the April 2026 change to Japan's defence-transfer rules, and the meetings between Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. And the part most coverage skips: the hulls are free, but the American-made weapons, the training of hundreds of sailors, the spare parts and the new berths are not. Status: the transfer is agreed in principle, with delivery expected within two to three years after the class leaves Japanese service. Japan has not said which five ships will go, and the final weapons fit has not been announced. Some scenes are visualizations created for this film, including the shipyard, engine room and underwater sequences. The figure of about 600 sailors is our own estimate (about 120 per ship across five ships). Which retiring Japanese warship should we take apart next? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe to Nihon Forge for more on how Japan builds its ships. #AbukumaClass #JMSDF #PhilippineNavy Disclaimer: Synthetic Media & Content Generation The visual and audio content in this video, including voiceovers and photorealistic representations of aerospace and industrial environments, was generated using advanced artificial intelligence tools. Modus Assembly utilizes AI strictly as a visualization and production mechanism. This content complies with YouTube's Altered and Synthetic Content policies. 0:00 Five Japanese warships for Manila 1:02 Meet Jintsū and the Abukuma class 2:17 Three yards, six ships 3:33 Engines, hull and sonar 4:57 Bow to stern 6:00 Thirty-five years on Japan's coast 7:00 The rule that blocked the deal 8:30 April 2026: the rules change 9:21 The hull is the easy part 10:40 Six hundred sailors and a mixed fleet 12:26 The real answer 13:20 Korea's corvette and a 75-year-old ship 14:47 Back to Sasebo