Japan puts shipbuilding to the fore as a national strategic priority

Revitalising and strengthening Japan’s shipbuilding industry has become an urgent national priority, not only for industrial policy but for economic security.

Japan led the world in shipbuilding for nearly half a century after overtaking the UK in 1956, at its peak building roughly half of the world’s ships. The oil crisis, the yen’s appreciation after the Plaza Accord, and two severe structural recessions forced Japan to close docks, cut employment and halve its shipbuilding capacity. Since around 2000, South Korea and then China have expanded rapidly, and today China accounts for more than half of global shipbuilding, South Korea around 30%, and Japan roughly 10%.

This decline in market share does not mean Japanese output has collapsed. Japanese yards have maintained annual production of about