Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

New Capabilities

Prime contractor building and marketing the H3

Japan's H3 rocket has been out of service since a December 2025 upper-stage failure destroyed a navigation satellite. A June 10 launch attempt was scrubbed by weather; JAXA reset the window to June 12, opening at 9:54 a.m. local time.

Updated Jun 11

Rule Changes

Japan's largest defense contractor, building frigates for Australia

Japan banned lethal weapons exports in 1967 and tightened the prohibition in 1976. On April 21, 2026, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet scrapped those limits.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

Lead manufacturer of Japan's new long-range missile systems

For eight decades, Japan's military existed under a constitutional leash: no offensive weapons, no power projection, no ability to strike an enemy beyond its own shores. That era ended on March 9, 2026, when trucks carrying upgraded Type-12 missiles rolled into Camp Kengun in Kumamoto under cover of darkness. Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the missiles can hit targets roughly 1,000 kilometers away, enough to reach mainland China, and are Japan's first domestically developed long-range strike weapons.

Updated May 30