Comment Re:Japanese Military (Score 1) 282
The new USS America [wikipedia.org] has a flight deck of the same size. France's (only) aircraft carrier is about ten meters longer. The gigantic Nimitz-class supercarriers are the exception to the rule.
Just using flight deck length is misleading.
While the French Charles de Gaulle carrier is only 13 meters longer, it's almost 70% wider and and overall it's twice as big (displacement).
Here's a bit more detailed listing,
name (year launched)
tonnage (standard), length x beam (flight deck)
Izumo (2013)
19,500 tons, 248 x 38 m
HMS Invincible (1980)
22,000 tons, 209 x 36 m
HMS Ark Royal (1955)
36,800 tons, 245 x 52 m
Charles de Gaulle (2001)
37,085 tons, 245 x 52 m
USS America (2012)
45,000 tons, 257 x 32 m
USS Midway (1945)
45,000 tons, 295 x 34 m
HMS Queen Elizabeth (2016, planned)
70,6000 tons, 284 x 70 m
USS Nimitz (1975)
100,000 tons, 332 x 77 m
The Izumo is less than half the displacement of a late-war WWII design, and lacks the flight deck area of more modern carriers (which due to their angled flight deck are substantially wider at the flight deck than at the waterline). Unsurprisingly it's closest to the displacement to the Royal Navy's old through-deck cruisers (aka 'Harrier carriers') which had the similar mission of supporting helicopters for anti-submarine patrol.