Congress Looks to Japan for Tips on Submarine Building

‘There is very little commercial shipbuilding done in American shipyards today,’ an expert said.

A U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarine docks at the HMAS Stirling port in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 4, 2023. Tony McDonough/AFP via Getty Images

The congressional Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces held a hearing on March 11 and heard that the United States could learn from Japan’s plan to produce one submarine per year.

Ronald O'Rourke, a naval analyst serving the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress for four decades, told lawmakers that Japan’s shipbuilding methods allowed it the stability to build and maintain its 22-strong fleet with maximum efficiency.

The hearing follows remarks made by President Donald Trump to Congress on March 4, during which he promised to set up an office in the White House that would hand out “special tax incentives” to expand U.S. shipbuilding.

O’Rourke pointed out that Japan and South Korea are known for “best practices” in shipbuilding by world standards.

He noted that Japan is exemplary in its management of skills development and raw materials and that it is able to keep its procurement steady despite changing force sizes. One of the keys, O’Rourke indicated, is managing the “back end” by keeping an eye on a fleet’s “end-of-life,” as opposed to what he calls “upfront procurement tinkering.”

His written statement prepared for the hearing, titled “The State of U.S. Shipping,” explains this process.

“Japan aims to maintain a steady submarine production rate of one boat per year. When Japan planned to maintain a force of 18 submarines, it did so with the one-per-year build rate by keeping its submarines in service to about age 18,” it reads.

“When Japan increased its submarine force-level goal to 22 boats, it maintained the one-per-year build rate and started keeping its submarines in service to about age 22. If Japan were to decide to further increase its submarine fleet to 30 boats, it could again maintain the one-year build rate and start keeping its boats in service to age 30.”

NTI, a nonprofit global security organization working to reduce emerging technology threats, documents how Japan has been able to produce a submarine annually since 1998.

O’Rourke pointed out that South Korea and Japan are in competition with China, which, according to the expert, produces 40 to 50 percent of the world’s ships.

According to Statista, China accounted for 48.4 percent of the global shipbuilding market in 2021.

For this reason, South Korea and Japan are “laser-focused” on holding onto their market share, O'Rourke said.

O’Rourke’s remarks on Japan and South Korea were echoed by Eric Labs, senior analyst for Naval Forces and Weapons at the Congressional Budget Office, who was also on the receiving end of the subcommittee’s questions.

Labs went as far as suggesting the United States outsource the industry to its allies.

“Given that the capacity of current shipbuilding yards is full, looking at the question of our allies being able to supply some of these types of ships is something that is worth considering,” he told the panel.

“There’s all kinds of advantages and disadvantages of bringing the allies and partners into the shipbuilding portfolio whether domestic or overseas.”

When Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) asked Labs, O’Rourke, and their colleagues for a yes or no answer on whether the Navy has the capabilities to build, repair, and design ships, he was met with silence.

Bergman then queried a statement he said he had heard in the last 24 hours that shipping in the United States existed only because of the 1920 Jones Act, which stipulates that “merchandise being transported by water between U.S. points” was only to be shipped on vessels that were built, registered, and crewed by the United States.

Labs responded, “There is very little commercial shipbuilding done in American shipyards today.”

“There is some commercial shipbuilding that does occur. It does seem to me that it is mostly Jones Act ships, which is building ships for intra-United States trade between one U.S. port and another U.S. port,” he added.

A 2023 congressional report titled “U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding in a Global Context” said the United States only built 0.2 percent of the world’s ships.