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Originally a passenger steamer Izumo Maru. The ship was designed according to the requirements of the Navy so that it was relatively easy to convert it into an aircraft carrier. It was rebuilt during construction and on June 24, 1941 it was renamed Hiyo.

The Kampfpanzer Leopard 1 is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard design focused on effective firepower and mobility instead of heavy protection. It featured moderate armour, only effective against low caliber autocannons and heavy machine guns, giving it a high power-to-weight ratio. This, coupled with a modern suspension and drivetrain, gave the Leopard superior mobility and cross-country performance compared to most other main battle tanks of the era, only being rivaled by the French AMX-30 and Swedish Strv 103. The main armament of the Leopard consisted of a German license-built version of the British Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm rifled gun, one of the most effective and widespread tank guns of the era.

From the experience of the conflicts in China and Korea in the 1930s, it became clear that the need arose to have fast tankers to supply fuel to military units. Curugisaki was one of the first. Later, when the conflict with the USA was close, it was decided to convert it into a support ship for submarines, and in January 1941 it was decided to convert it into a light aircraft carrier. The reconstruction lasted until January 1942. On January 26, 1942, Curugisaki was renamed Shoho.

Takao was the lead vessel in the Takao-class heavy cruisers, active in World War II with the Imperial Japanese Navy. These were the largest cruisers in the Japanese fleet, and were intended to form the backbone of a multipurpose long-range strike force. Her sister ships were Atago, Maya and Chōkai.