The vessels are believed to have sunken in a US attack during World War Two.
The team, led by Paul Allen, a co-founder of US IT giant Microsoft, made the announcement at an online news conference on Thursday.
The team says the vessels were found on the seabed off the southern city of Surigao, and appear to be the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso and the destroyers Michishio, Asagumo and Yamagumo of the now-defunct Japanese Imperial Navy. The ships were attacked and sank in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Two years ago, the team discovered the Japanese battleship Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines, attracting worldwide attention.
The latest expedition was carried out from late last month to early this month.
Photos taken by an unmanned probe show the hulls and other components of the sunken vessels lying on the bottom of the sea. These images will be posted on the team’s Facebook page in stages.
Hopes are rising that an expert analysis will shed more light on what happened to the fleet.
Source and image: NHK
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