TOKYO: Japan announced on Wednesday its plans to develop a next-generation passenger plane over the next decade, following the scrapping of a struggling attempt by a private company a year ago.
According to a statement issued the same day, it is crucial for Japan to build next-generation aircraft based on technologies in which Japan is competitive, while also contributing to the decarbonization of air transport.
An official stated that over the next 10 years, an investment totaling five trillion yen ($33 billion) would be required for the development of the new passenger plane.
This fresh move to build the nation’s first homemade airliner in over half a century comes after Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) abandoned a much-anticipated attempt in February last year.
The troubled project to develop a twin-engine plane for short-to-medium haul flights was ditched 10 years after the jet was due for a commercial rollout, having suffered technical hitches and repeated delivery delays.
“For the Japanese aircraft industry to achieve sustainable growth, we cannot be satisfied with our position as a parts supplier,” Kazuchika Iwata, state minister for economy, trade, and industry, told the committee in comments open to the press on Wednesday morning.
“In the new business fields of carbon-neutral technologies, including hydrogen, we focus on taking a significant position and partnering with global players to develop a narrow-body plane,” Iwata said.
China showcased its first domestically produced passenger jet in Singapore in February 2024, aiming to challenge the dominance of Airbus and Boeing with its single-aisle model.
Japan last launched a commercial airliner in 1962, the YS-11 turboprop that was discontinued about a decade later. Hydrogen fuel does not emit carbon dioxide when burned, making it an exciting prospect for the country targeting carbon neutrality by 2050.
However, environmental campaigners are skeptical about its usage without a reliable supply chain for so-called “green” hydrogen, produced from renewable energy sources.
“Nothing concrete has been decided yet, but possibilities include hybrid electrics, hydrogen combustion, hydrogen FC; these are possible next-generation technologies we are looking at and aiming to further deepen our research in developing the new aircraft,” the economy ministry official told AFP.
Edward Bourlet, an analyst at CLSA in Japan covering MHI, said that Mitsubishi Heavy’s jet was a “massive cost burden” and “a nightmare project.”
