In response to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' withdrawal from the development of the SpaceJet, the first domestically produced passenger jet, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) decided to investigate the causes of the withdrawal and examine issues for the development of the domestic aircraft industry.
The SpaceJet project started in 2008 and has been developed with approximately 500 billion yen from the government, but MHI announced its withdrawal in February due to repeated delays in delivery and difficulty in securing profitability.
In response to this, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established a new meeting to investigate the causes of the withdrawal, and airline executives and academic experts participated in the first meeting on June 6.
In the meeting, an executive from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries explained that although a lengthy flight test was conducted, it was not possible to obtain safety certification, and due to repeated design changes, the delivery date was postponed six times.
On top of that, they confirmed that they would investigate the cause of the withdrawal and how to make use of the human resources involved in development and the experience of flight tests, as well as the issues for the future development of the domestic aircraft industry.
In addition, the introduction of SAF, an alternative fuel made from plants and waste oil, was discussed for the decarbonization of the aviation industry, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) decided to compile it as a strategy for the aircraft industry within this fiscal year.