Japan plans US$6.9 billion shipyard push: for US trade, defence talks leverage?

Tokyo’s government-backed ‘national dockyard’ initiative aims to rebuild infrastructure and provide support for repairing US Navy vessels

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Tsu shipyard in Mie prefecture. Once a world leader in shipbuilding, Japan has in recent years produced far fewer vessels than China and South Korea. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:30am, 2 Jul 2025Updated: 6:53pm, 2 Jul 2025

Japan is drawing up plans to build and upgrade shipyards that could support the repair of US Navy vessels, in a strategic move seen as both an economic security measure and a bargaining chip in fraught trade and defence burden-sharing talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The proposal, expected to be finalised in the autumn, includes a government-backed “national dockyard” initiative under which Tokyo would finance the restoration or construction of facilities before handing them over to the private sector to operate.

An estimated 1 trillion yen (US$6.9 billion) would be required in public and private investment, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

“Reviving the shipbuilding industry is critically important for our economic security,” said Minoru Kiuchi, minister of economic security, at a press conference on June 20.

“We will work with the land ministry to strengthen supply chains and ensure a stable supply of vessels.”

The submarine “Raigei” is seen following a ceremony marking its delivery to the Japanese navy at a shipyard in Kobe, western Japan, in March. Photo: Kyodo

Once a world leader in shipbuilding, Japan has in recent years produced far fewer vessels than China and South Korea, raising fears about security in an island nation that relies heavily on imports by sea.

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