JS Sōgei

JS Sōgei is a diesel-electric submarine of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the sixth boat of the Taigei-class. Her name, written in kanji as "蒼鯨", translates to "blue whale". She is the first Japanese naval vessel to bore that name, as the Imperial Japanese Navy had not used the name.

Construction and career

Sōgei was ordered in the fiscal year 2022 as part of JMSDF's Mid-Term Defense Program. She was laid down on 28 March 2023 at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Kobe Shipyard, and launched on 14 October 2025. The vessel would then undergo a fitting out process and a period of sea trials, being scheduled to be commissioned in March 2027.