Kyle Mizokami has a fine piece up at the Diplomat about the prospects for a Japanese amphibious fleet:

Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief missions are typically supported by naval vessels. The March Tohoku emergency, as well as the January 2010 Haitian earthquake, saw multinational fleets sortieing to the assistance of island nations. In both instances, natural disasters disrupted local airports and port facilities, slowing the flow of relief into the disaster zone. The design of naval vessels, such as the USS Essex in Tohoku and the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour in Haiti, made them key to opening up affected areas. Self-sufficient in food and power, and designed to serve a large expeditionary force, such ships are designed to project large amounts of military force abroad into less than ideal conditions. If one substitutes aid and assistance for force, the usefulness of naval designs is readily apparent. It’s no wonder then that Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief missions are typically carried out by naval vessels.

 

 

A large ship of a naval design would be an ideal platform for responding to Japan’s natural disasters. Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands, and more than a third of Japan’s population lives within ten kilometers of the coast. Although most islands are connected in one way or another, earthquakes and tsunamis can incapacitate those connections, damaging bridges and ferry docks. A disaster relief vessel could simply sail from one island to the next to provide assistance. Furthermore, Japan's terrain is mostly mountainous, with communities often connected by roads and railroads cutting through rugged terrain. While a disaster might close such routes to emergency traffic, a HA/DR vessel could simply sail around them.

The Patterson team in Thomas Barnett's Wikistrat competition played Japan, and advocated extending the Hyuga production line in order to further develop the JMSDF's relief assistance capabilities. Of course, larger purpose-built amphibious ships would work even better.

 

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Similar emphasis going on in China, it seems:

 

From Information Dissemination

 

I have previously posted the modules of the 3rd Type 071. I've recently read that the 4th Type 071 is also quickly taking shape in the shipyard. It shows that Type 071 is really becoming a big part of PLAN's future plans.

 

And, of course, there's the Russian Mistrals, two of which are expected to make their home in the Pacific.

Um, I thought the JMSDF was a military force, not a humanitarian assistance force. I don't think they were built for ferrying people from island to island when the bridge is destroyed by mother nature.

Yeah, but when they can't even call themselves a navy, that sort of thing probably makes a very useful talking point for local consumption ...