JS Kongō (DDG-173) is a Kongō-class guided missile destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

She also participated in RIMPAC 2000, accompanied by a large JMSDF fleet consisting of the destroyers Kurama, Shimakaze, Murasame, Harusame, Yūdachi, Kirisame, Asagiri, as well as the supply ship Hamana and submarine Natusushio.

[citation needed] She was deployed to the Indian Ocean between 17 May and 19 September 2004 in response to the passing of the "Act on Special Measures Against Terrorism", alongside the Ariake and Hamana.

In December 2007, Japan conducted a successful test of the SM-3 block IA against a ballistic missile aboard Kongō.

[4][5] In 2012, Kongō, Chōkai and Myōkō were deployed in cooperation with the US Navy in preparation for the Democratic Republic of Korea to test the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2.