Background
Combat experience in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 convinced the Imperial Japanese Navy of weaknesses in the Jeune Ecole naval philosophy, which emphasized torpedo boats and commerce raiding to offset expensive heavily armoured ships. Therefore Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up programme, to modernize and expand its fleet in preparation for further confrontations, with the construction of six battleships and six armoured cruisers at its core. These ships were paid for from the £30,000,000 indemnity paid by China after losing the First Sino-Japanese War. As with the earlier Fuji and Shikishima-class battleships, Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships, and turned again to the United Kingdom for the four remaining battleships of the programme. Asahi, the fifth battleship of the naval programme, was ordered from the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Battleship Asahi
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