Japan’s shipbuilding industry will double its capacity

To double Japan’s shipbuilding industry, an industry group consisting of 17 companies, including Imabari Shipbuilding, recently announced a 350 billion yen investment in equipment. The investment will include large cranes and other equipment to enhance shipbuilding capacity. As China continues to strengthen its shipbuilding capabilities and accelerate its maritime expansion, and given the joint efforts of the Japanese and US governments to address the situation in China, the Japanese shipbuilding industry will prioritize strengthening its domestic industrial system.

At a Liberal Democratic Party meeting on October 23rd, Yukito Higaki, Chairman of the Japan Shipbuilding Builders’ Association (President of Imabari Shipbuilding), will explain the investment. The Japanese government is working toward its goal of doubling shipbuilding capacity by 2035, and the shipbuilding industry, believing that further investment is difficult to achieve with private sector funding alone, is seeking government support.

Under the Japan-US Tariff Agreement, shipbuilding is one of the areas of Japanese investment in the US. Improving the domestic industrial environment is crucial for Japan to contribute to the recovery of the US shipbuilding industry. Achieving the Japanese government’s goal of doubling shipbuilding capacity will require substantial investment. In June 2025, the Liberal Democratic Party proposed to the Japanese government the establishment of a state-led fund capable of mobilizing over 1 trillion yen in investment.

For the 350 billion yen investment, companies plan to raise it through various means, including loans. Companies, citing their limitations in independently undertaking the further large-scale investment required to double shipbuilding capacity, requested the Japanese government on October 23rd to establish a fund with the necessary scale and proportion of support.

Ships require the welding and assembly of hull modules made of steel plates within a shipyard. Large cranes would allow for the manufacture of larger hull modules, thereby improving the turnover rate of existing shipyards. Each large crane costs nearly 10 billion yen.

Only one company in Japan can produce large cranes. Delivery times can be as long as six to seven years. The Japanese shipbuilding industry hopes to secure a fund to address these long lead times.

The industry also requests that the fund be used for areas such as the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Due to the impact of low-cost imports from China and South Korea, Japan has halted the construction of LNG carriers since 2019.

In the comprehensive economic policy plan issued on October 21st, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listed the shipbuilding industry as a “typical example of government-business collaboration for crisis management investment.”