Japan failed to build its own airliner. Now it’s turning to Boeing
After the 1 trillion yen SpaceJet flop, Japan is pinning its hopes on an aerospace comeback to bridge the technology gap with China
“It’s what the sociologists and international relations experts call ‘techno-nationalism’,” said Lance Gatling, president of Nexial Research and an aviation and aerospace analyst. “When a Japanese person gets on a plane, they are proud because it is Japanese-made – and Japanese companies are happy to pay extra for a domestically produced solution.”
That impulse extends to keeping pace with technological rival China, as Japan strives to reclaim its reputation as a global innovation hub – one that, in decades past, gave the world the Walkman portable cassette player, the lithium-ion battery and the QR code.
On Saturday, the Mainichi newspaper reported that China’s agreement to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing in May had caught Tokyo’s attention.