Japan’s shipbuilders target 18 million gross tons by 2035

November 2 ------ Japan’s shipbuilding industry is planning major capital investments and closer cooperation among domestic shipyards to double annual shipbuilding capacity to 18 million gross tons by 2035, supported by government funding.

Speaking at a press conference on December 18, 2025, Yukito Higaki, chairman of the Japan Shipbuilders’ Association (JSA) and president of Imabari Shipbuilding, emphasized that expanding shipbuilding facilities and strengthening collaboration between domestic yards would be essential to achieving the target.

According to Kaiji Press, Higaki said that shipyards could increase their individual efficiency through capital investment while pursuing closer cooperation through flexible alliances, rather than relying solely on capacity expansion. "By maximizing efficiency through investment and cooperating through soft alliances, we can achieve a shipbuilding capacity of 18 million gross ton." Higaki stated.

The initiative follows the Japanese government’s decision to establish a shipbuilding support fund worth approximately ¥350 billion over 10 years. The country’s supplementary budget for fiscal 2025 allocated ¥120 billion toward the fund’s initial three years.

The broader capacity expansion program is expected to require approximately ¥1 trillion in investment, including ¥350 billion from the shipbuilding industry, ¥350 billion through the new fund and ¥300 billion from existing government support mechanisms.

Higaki stressed that expanding domestic shipbuilding capacity would also be necessary to meet Japanese shipowners’ fleet replacement requirements, warning that insufficient capacity could lead to more newbuilding orders being placed at overseas yards.

The industry’s long-term objective is to strengthen Japan’s competitiveness against major shipbuilding nations, particularly China and South Korea, while ensuring that domestic shipyards can meet future demand from Japanese shipping companies.

Source: safety4sea.com