Since the 1980s, Japan began to re-propose the concept of the "Eight-Eight Fleet" and implement it. The so-called "Eight-Eight Fleet" mainly focuses on submarine escort missions and emphasizes on anti-submarine warfare capabilities, consisting of 8 destroyers and 8 ship-borne helicopters. It includes 1 helicopter destroyer (Shirane-class or Haruna-class), 2 anti-aircraft destroyers (1 Kongō-class + 1 Kizuna-class or Tachikaze-class destroyer), and 5 general-purpose destroyers (currently usually 2 Murasame-class + 3 Asagiri or Hatsuyuki-class destroyers).
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's "Nine-Ten Fleet" is based on the original "Eight-Eight Fleet," with the addition of newly constructed Aegis anti-aircraft missile destroyers and multi-purpose destroyers (carrying 1 helicopter) each, forming a fleet with 10 destroyers and 9 ship-borne helicopters, hence its name.
