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Japan wants to develop its own passenger plane by 2035, which will not fly on traditional kerosene. The Japanese news agency Kyodo writes this based on sources in the file.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, together with private companies, would invest 5,000 billion yen (more than 30 billion euros) to develop the aircraft. Hydrogen is being considered, among other things, for the propulsion.
Japan is investing heavily in hydrogen. Many companies in the country are working on it, including car manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda. The program should give the Japanese aviation sector a major boost. Japanese companies are now mainly active as parts suppliers.
Japan previously had a project underway for its own commercial aircraft, the ‘SpaceJet’ (previously known as Mitsubishi Regional Jet). That project was started in 2008, with the initial intention to deliver the first aircraft in 2013. But that delivery date was pushed back six times, until the coronavirus halted the project completely. The company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries finally pulled the plug last year.