Most of the IJN photos I see tend to be over- or under-exposed, or not well focused, or poorly composed, so it's difficult to see details on many of the ships. I can imagine a lot of possible reasons for this (including camera technology, different organizational priorities, loss of records, or dissemination on the English-language web) but I'm curious to know if there anyone has actually looked into this. Thanks!
While this is far from my field, and I'm speculating a bit here, there are a few key components that I would imagine are highly relevant.
Destruction of records. In the time frame between the Jeweled Voice Broadcast, where the Shōwa Emperor announced that Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration, and the beginning of the American occupation, the Japanese destroyed a countless amount of records. For the Navy, this included substantial numbers of design documents, yard photos, and other similar documents. While I've got no sources that specifically mention the destruction of photographs, the destruction of Japanese records was quite widespread, and likely encompassed the destruction of official photographs and the like.
Availability of cameras. This point is far more speculative, as I've read nothing on the prevalence of camera equipment among IJN sailors and officers. Quite simply, when compared to the United States, Japan was rather economically underdeveloped. Many luxuries that could be taken for granted in the United States were far rarer in Japan. This could well have meant that a smaller number of cameras were present to take photographs, leaving a far more limited pool of photos to draw upon.