Short take-off and landing stealth fighters from a US Navy test squadron made the F-35s type's first landing on the JS Kaga - a converted helicopter carrier officially labelled as a multi-functional destroyer by Tokyo and Washington.

In a technical advance off San Diego, a Navy F-35B strike fighter landed on a Japanese aircraft carrier for the first time over the weekend, proving that the two allies can jointly use one of the world’s most sophisticated jets.

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter has for the first time operated aboard Japan’s biggest in-service warship, the Izumo class ‘multifunctional destroyer’ Kaga. At the same time, there are signs that Japan may also be looking to expand the fixed-wing capabilities of this class of vessel,

Photos show a US F-35B operating on Japan's newly converted destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier off the Californian coast.

Due to the ongoing dispute over the Kuril Islands, Japan has been in a formal state of tension with Russia for years. The Kaijō Jieitai, or the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, recently showcased the first landing of an F-35B on the deck of the JS Kaga during sea trials near San Diego.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) reached a milestone in its aircraft carrier capabilities as a U.S. Navy F-35B Lightning II conducted its first landing on the JS Kaga (DDH-184). -The Kaga,