Japanese Navy Decommissions Uzushio Submarine After 25 Years of Service

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has held an official flag-lowering ceremony for the JS Uzushio, an Oyashio-class submarine that served in the fleet for 25 years.

Kanagawa Television reported on this.

JS Uzushio entered service on March 9, 2000, though it was initially laid down in 1995. Construction began on March 6, 1996, at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard in Kobe, and the submarine was launched on October 15, 1998.

According to JMSDF officials, during its 25 years of service, the submarine covered a distance equivalent to 12 trips around the Earth.

“Today, after 25 years of service, we are concluding our mission. Uzushio proved to be an outstanding vessel. It trained many submariners who continue to serve beneath the seas as the backbone of our fleet,” Commander Yoshihiro Sakaeya said.

Oyashio-class submarines were built between 1994 and 2008.

As of December 2025, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force continues to operate six submarines of this class. Two of them – Isoshio and Makashio -have been converted into training submarines and are used for crew instruction.

Submarines of this class have a standard displacement of 2,750 tons and a submerged displacement of 5,500 tons. With a length of 82 meters and a beam of 8.9 meters, they can reach a maximum speed of 12 knots on the surface and 20 knots underwater.

Each submarine has a crew of 70. Standard armament consists of six 533-mm torpedo tubes capable of launching Type 89 torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

It should be noted that the successor to the Oyashio project is the Taigei-class submarine, which is currently being built for Japan.

The new submarines feature improved noise-reduction characteristics and a more advanced propulsion system. To date, Japan’s Ministry of Defense has funded 10 Taigei-class submarines, four of which have already entered service, while another four are at various stages of construction.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Japanese shipbuilding company Kawasaki Heavy Industries had launched the sixth Taigei-class submarine equipped with lithium-ion batteries.