Yubari was named after the experimental light cruiser of the 1920s–1930s, which served in (and was lost during) World War II.

This class was the extended version of its predecessor, JS Ishikari.

But they were almost same and there were many points in common as follows: Both ships of this class were deployed at the Ominato District Force (home-ported at Mutsu, Aomori).

Originally it had been planned to build six of this class (1985 Mid-Term Defense Buildup Program).

However it was decided that this class was too small to continue in production, so it was succeeded by the Abukuma-class with an entirely new design.