THE country announced plans to develop a next-generation passenger jet over the next decade after the last struggling attempt, led by a private company, was scrapped a year ago.
The new public-private project aims to use “new environmental technologies” such as hydrogen or hybrid electrics, a statement from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said on Wednesday.
“It is important for us to build next-generation aircraft based on technologies where Japan is competitive while also contributing to the decarbonation of air transport,” the statement said.
The new plane will be ready after 2035, an economy ministry official said after a closed-door meeting of politicians, experts and businessmen to discuss Japan’s aviation industry strategy.
Over the next 10 years, a ¥5 trillion (RM156bil) investment is needed in the industry, including for the development of the new passenger plane, the official said.The fresh push to build the nation’s first homemade airliner in more than half a century comes after Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) abandoned a much-anticipated attempt in February 2023.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 commercial rollout, having suffered technical glitches and repeated delivery delays.
“For the Japanese aircraft industry to achieve sustainable growth, we cannot stay satisfied with our position as a parts supplier,” Kazuchika Iwata, state minister for economy, trade and industry, told the committee in comments open to press at the start of Wednesday’s meeting.“In the new business fields of carbon-neutral tech, including hydrogen, we aim to take a leading position” and partner with global players to develop a narrow-body plane, he said.
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 Japan which is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050.
But environmental campaigners are sceptical about its use without a reliable supply chain for so-called “green” hydrogen.Edward Bourlet, an analyst at CLSA in Japan covering MHI, said that Mitsubishi Heavy’s jet is a “massive cost burden” and “a nightmare project”.
“The main issue here will probably be the hydrogen side of things if that’s what they’re going for,” he said. — AFP
