is a Japanese multinational

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

electrical equipment Electrical devices or electric devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to operate their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contraste ...

and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

corporation headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the

Mitsubishi Group The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 1946 ...

and its automobile division is the predecessor of

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

. MHI's products include

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

and automotive components,

air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

forklift trucks A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...

, hydraulic equipment, printing machines,

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

power systems IBM Power Systems is a family of server computers from IBM that are based on its Power processors. It was created in 2008 as a merger of the System p and System i product lines. History IBM had two distinct POWER- and PowerPC-based hardwar ...

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, railway systems, and space

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

s. Through its defense-related activities, it is the world's 23rd-largest

defense contractor A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and ...

measured by 2011 defense revenues and the largest based in Japan.

History

In 1857, at the request of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, a group of Dutch engineers were invited, including Dutch naval engineer Hendrik Hardes, and began work on the ''Nagasaki Yotetsusho'' (), a modern, Western-style

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and shipyard near the Dutch settlement of

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

, at

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. This was renamed ''Nagasaki Seitetsusho'' () Nagasaki Iron (Steel) Foundry in 1860, and construction was completed in 1861. Following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

of 1868, the shipyard was placed under control of the new

Government of Meiji Japan The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empir ...

. The first dry dock was completed in 1879. In 1884, Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi, leased the ''Nagasaki Seitetsusho'' from the Japanese government, renamed it the ''Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works'' () and entered the shipbuilding business on a large scale. Iwasaki purchased the shipyards outright in 1887. In 1891, "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Yokohama Machinery Works" was started as ''Yokohama Dock Company, Ltd''. Its main business was ship repairs, to which it added ship servicing by 1897. The works was renamed ''Mitsubishi Shipyard of Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha'' in 1893 and additional

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s were completed in 1896 and 1905. The "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works" was established in 1914. It produced industrial machinery and merchant ships. Tosa launch

The Nagasaki company was renamed ''Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Ltd.'' in 1917 and again renamed as ''Mitsubishi Heavy Industries'' in 1934. It became the largest private firm in Japan, active in the manufacture of ships, heavy machinery, airplanes and railway cars. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries merged with the Yokohama Dock Company in 1935. From its inception, the Mitsubishi Nagasaki shipyards were heavily involved in contracts for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. The largest

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

''Musashi'' was completed at Nagasaki in 1942. These connections made Nagasaki a target for

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a systematically organized and executed military attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy' ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by the Allied

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

s, which later dropped an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

on the city on 9 August 1945. This attack, following the

atomic bombing Atomic may refer to: * Of or relating to the atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties * Atomic physics, the study of the atom * Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era" * Atomic scale, distances comp ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

three days earlier, dealt a devastating blow to the Japanese leadership, contributing to the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

six days later. The ''Kobe Shipyard of Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha'' was established in 1905. The Kobe Shipyard merged with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1934. The Kobe Shipyard constructed the ocean liner ''Argentina Maru'' (later repurposed as the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

'' Kaiyo''), and the submarines the '' I-19'' and ''

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

''. Following the dissolution of the ''

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

'' after the surrender of Japan at the end of

, Mitsubishi divided into three companies in January 1950: Mitsubishi Nagasaki became ''West Japan Heavy Industries, Ltd'', the Kobe Shipyard became ''Central Japan Heavy-Industries, Ltd.'', and the Yokohama branch became East Japan Heavy-Industries, Ltd. On 28 April 1952 the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

ended, which meant that the ban on using zaibatsu names was lifted. Accordingly, all three companies changed names again on 7 May 1952: West Japan Heavy Industries (the Nagasaki Shipyard) was renamed ''Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd.'', Central Japan Heavy Industries, Ltd. was renamed Shin-Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. (also

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

''Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Reorganized, Ltd.''; ''shin'' meaning "New"), while East Japan Heavy-Industries became Mitsubishi Nippon Heavy Industries. In 1964, the three independent companies from the 1950 break-up were merged into Shin-Mitsubishi Jukogyo and became Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The Nagasaki works was renamed the ''Nagasaki Shipyard & Engine Works''. The Kobe works was renamed the 'Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works'. In 1970, MHI's automobile parts department became an independent company as

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

. In 1974, its Tokyo headquarters was targeted in a bombing that killed eight people. MHI participated in a ¥540 billion emergency rescue of Mitsubishi Motors in January 2005, in partnership with

Mitsubishi Corporation is a Japanese general trading company ( ''sogo shosha'') and a core member of the Mitsubishi Group. For much of the post-war period, Mitsubishi Corporation has been the largest of the five great ''sogo shosha'' (Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, S ...

and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group. As part of the rescue, MHI acquired ¥50 billion of Mitsubishi Motors stock, increasing its ownership stake to 15 percent and making the automaker an affiliate again. The emergency rescue was carried out 4 years after a product recall scandal in Japan that was triggered by accusations of Mitsubishi Motors allegedly trying to systematically hide manufacturing defects to avoid recalls, and marketing problems in the US. In 1994, MHI opened the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum in Yokohama which is mainly a museum for kids to experience science and technology. In October 2009, MHI announced an order for up to 100 regional jets from the United States–based airline Trans States Holdings. MHI entered talks with

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

in August 2011 about a potential merger of the two companies, in what would have been the largest merger between two Japanese companies in history. The talks subsequently broke down and were suspended. In November 2012, MHI and Hitachi agreed to merge their thermal power generation businesses into a joint venture to be owned 65% by MHI and 35% by Hitachi. The joint venture began operations in February 2014 and ended in 2020, as Hitachi transferred its shares to MHI. In June 2014

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

and MHI announced their formation of joint ventures to bid for

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

's troubled energy and transportation businesses (in locomotives, steam turbines, and aircraft engines). A rival bid by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

(GE) has been criticized by French government sources, who consider Alstom's operations as a "vital national interest" at a moment when the French unemployment level stands above 10% and some voters are turning towards the conservative party. GE's proposal ultimately prevailed. MHI had entered the high-speed train business in 1995, with the manufacture of the MLX01 SCMaglev car, a business it exited in 2017 after struggling with the development costs of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet, and disagreements with

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

over the manufacturing costs of the SCMaglev cars. In February 2021, MHI sold its machine tools business MHI Machine Tool Co. to Nidec. In June 2024, MHI announced it will cease newspaper

rotary printing press A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on various substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a contin ...

production due to declining demand. At the time the company held a 50% share of the Japanese rotary press market.

Operations

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Yokohama Building -01

Aerospace

MHI has aerospace facilities in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Aichi, Komaki, Aichi and Mississauga, Canada. In the 1950s the company began to re-enter the aerospace industry in earnest. Along with other major Japanese companies it was involved in design and production of the

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...

, the first Japanese airliner to enter production after World War II. In 1956 work started on the design of the

Mitsubishi MU-2 The Mitsubishi MU-2 is a Japanese high-wing, twin-engine turboprop aircraft with a Cabin pressurization, pressurized cabin manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It made its maiden flight in September 1963 and was produced until 1986. It ...

, which became the company's first postwar aircraft design. In the defense sector, MHI has produced jet fighters for the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

and anti-submarine helicopters for the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

, as well as aero-engines, missiles and torpedoes. It produced

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...

and

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

fighters. It manufactured 139 Mitsubishi F-15J fighter aircraft from 1981 and produced 200

Sikorsky S-70 The Sikorsky S-70 is an American medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the United States Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, UH-60 ...

family

Mitsubishi H-60 The Mitsubishi H-60 series is a twin-turboshaft engine helicopter based on the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter family for use by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The SH-60J/K/L are Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarin ...

helicopters from 1989, in both cases under license production. The company also plays an important role in the Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense System program. In the space systems sector, MHI is the producer of the

H-IIA H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbi ...

and

H-IIB H-IIB (H2B) was an expendable space launch system jointly developed by the Japanese government's space agency JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was used to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or ''Kōnotori'') cargo spacecraft for ...

launch vehicles, Japan's main rockets, and provides launch services for national institutions and companies around the world. The clients include

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

, KARI,

Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC, ) is a Government of Dubai, Dubai Government organization working on the UAE space program, which includes various Satellite, space satellites projects, such as the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates ...

, and

Inmarsat Inmarsat is a British communications satellite, satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with groun ...

. The company is also involved in the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

program as a cargo spaceship contractor. On 1 April 2008, MHI established

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation , abbreviated MITAC, was a Japanese company that developed, produced, sold and supported the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) passenger airliners. The manufacturing of the aircraft was planned to be carried out by parent company Mitsubishi He ...

as a subsidiary to develop and produce the MRJ or Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a 70 to 90 passenger regional airliner. MHI is the majority shareholder of the new company, with

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

owning 10%. On 12 December 2012, MHI acquired Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, the small gas turbine business of

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

. In the civil aircraft sector, MHI develops and manufactures major airframe components, including fuselage panels for the

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...

and composite-material wing boxes for the 787. In June 2014, the company joined four other major Japanese companies in signing an agreement to build parts for Boeing's 777X aircraft. On 25 June 2019, MHI announced the acquisition of

Bombardier Aviation Bombardier Aviation, a division of Bombardier Inc., is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. The company currently produces the Bombardier Global Express, Global and Bombardier Challenger 600, Challenger series of Business jet, business je ...

's CRJ programme, in a deal expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to regulatory approval. MHI will benefit from Bombardier's global expertise in areas ranging from engineering and certification to customer relations and support, boosting its SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) programme, and potentially enabling the SpaceJet to be produced in North America. The deal includes two service centres in Canada and two in the US, as well as the type certificates for the CRJ. Bombardier will retain its assembly facility at Mirabel, near

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, and will continue to produce the CRJ on behalf of MHI until the current order backlog is complete. In early May 2020, MHI confirmed that all conditions had been met and that the transaction would be closed on 1 June. The acquired aviation unit was then renamed MHI RJ Aviation Group. MHI recorded a loss in FY 2020 partly because of the continuous delays of the first delivery of the SpaceJet. At the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

that crippled the aviation industry, MHI decided to put a halt to the project.

Defense

In 2010, MHI commenced production of the Type 10 advanced main battle tank, at a cost of $11.3 million per unit, to replace the Type 90 tank.

Energy

The nuclear business of MHI operates facilities in the cities of

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

and Takasago in Hyogo Prefecture and in

Yokohama, Kanagawa is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

Prefecture. It also operates a nuclear fuel manufacturing plant in Tōkai, Ibaraki which processes 440 metric tons of Uranium per year. MHI has also developed the Mitsubishi APWR design. MHI has also signed a memorandum of understanding with

Areva Areva S.A. was a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power, active between 2001 and 2018. It was headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through t ...

for the establishment of a joint venture,

Atmea Atmea was a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and EDF Group set up in 2006 to develop, market, license and sell the ATMEA1 reactor, a new generation III+, medium-power pressurized water reactor (PWR). The company was headquar ...

, for their next reactor design ATMEA1. MHI has also been selected as the core company to develop a new generation of

Fast Breeder Reactor A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be Nuclear fuel, fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and Isotopes of thorium, thorium, such as uranium-238 and t ...

s (FBR) by the Japanese government. After that announcement was made, MHI established a new company, Mitsubishi FBR Systems, Inc. (MFBR) specifically for the development and realization of FBR technology, starting what is likely to be the most aggressive corporate venture into FBR and

Generation IV reactor Generation IV (Gen IV) reactors are nuclear reactor design technologies that are envisioned as successors of generation III reactors. The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) – an international organization that coordinates the development of ...

technology. In 2011, Mitsubishi launched the Type-J gas turbines. These turbines were Mitsubishi's first combined-cycle gas turbines in the 1700°C-class, and also the first to surpass 60% operational efficiency. A key factor was the use of single-crystal turbine blades (MGA1700 alloy), which are considerably stronger than multi-crystal blades due to the lack of grain boundaries. In addition, the thermal barrier coating (TBC) of the blades have been improved, with the new thermally-sprayed ceramic coating offering higher porosity and thus lower thermal conductivity than sintered materials. These upgrades allow for an inlet temperature of 1600 Celsius. As of 2015, MHI was developing a $15.8 billion nuclear power plant in

Sinop, Turkey Sinop, historically known as Sinope (, ), is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun, Gökçeada, İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince) and on the Boztepe Peninsula, near Cape Sinope (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape, Boztepe Burnu) which is situated on the ...

in partnership with

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading and investment companies) distinguished by the strength of its textil ...

and

Engie Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...

, which would be its first overseas nuclear project. The deal has been officially scrapped in January 2020, after the feasibility of the project was doubted. MHI unsuccessfully attempted to acquire the energy business of

in 2014 in order to develop its service network in Southeast Asia. MHI remains interested in acquisitions in the crude oil and gas sectors as of 2015. Following financial difficulties at

, MHI announced in 2015 it would make a proposal to take a minority ownership stake in a new entity called inheriting Areva's nuclear reactor business and acquired a 19% stake in the entity in 2017. In 2018, the entity has been named

Framatome Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (80.5%) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%). The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water reactor (PWR) designs ...

. In 2020, MHI eventually acquired Hitachi's

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

business unit after the two companies had merged their businesses to form a joint venture.

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding has been a core and historical founding activity for MHI. It was formally started in 1884 when Mitsubishi leased and then acquired the 'Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works' company (founded in 1857 as 'Nagasaki Yotetsusho Foundry'). Subsequently, Mitsubishi progressively became one of the major Japanese shipbuilding companies, building both commercial as well as military ships, including the Yamato-class battleship, Musashi, of the

during

. MHI has

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

facilities in

and

Shimonoseki file:141122 Shimonoseki City Hall Yamaguchi pref Japan01s3.jpg, 260px, Shimonoseki city hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 248,193 in 128,762 households and a pop ...

, Japan. is the primary shipbuilding division of MHI. It primarily produces specialized commercial vessels, including

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...

s, and passenger

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...

. On 1 December 2017, MHI announced that it will launch two new wholly owned companies on 1 January 2018 in conjunction with reorganization of its shipbuilding business: * A new subsidiary, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., was created to primarily undertake construction of ships that require intensive outfitting and advanced technologies, mainly based on the Yokohama, Shimonoseki and Nagasaki shipyards. * Separately, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Structure Co., Ltd. will mainly engage in the manufacture of large ships and marine structures. In late 2019, MHI, exploring a withdrawal from

construction, started to negotiate with Oshima Shipbuilding to divest its historic shipyard located in Koyagi, Nagasaki. On 24 December 2019, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding delivered its first

fuel gas Fuel gas is one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous. Most fuel gases are composed of hydrocarbons (such as methane and propane), hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of energy that c ...

supply system for a marine LNG engine. In June 2020, MHI entered talks with

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding () is a Japanese heavy industries company. Despite its name, it no longer builds ships and now focuses mainly on production of high-value ship equipment such as Marine propulsion, engines and automated gantry cranes. Mitsui E&S is the largest ...

to acquire the latter's naval and patrol ship business. The deal would strengthen MHI's defense sector, effectively consolidating Japan's defense industry as well. The deal is expected to be reached by the end of 2020, with the parties closing the transaction by October 2021, if approved by regulators. On 17 January 2022, the first successful sea voyage of an unmanned, fully autonomous vessel was successfully carried out by the ''Soleil'', built by MHI. The demonstration, conducted in cooperation of Shin Nihonkai Ferry, sailed 240 kilometres, from Shinmoji in Northern

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, to the Iyonada Sea, over seven hours, with a maximum speed of 26 knots. In the LIMA 2023 convention, MHI unveiled the Multi-Role Support Ship concept for visitors. MHI reported on 26 February 2025 that Australian operations will be expanded as part of efforts to secure potential contracts for the Mogami-class ships to enter Australian service.

Wind power

MHI has installed more 3,282 MW worldwide until December 2009, mainly turbines with 1 and 2.4 MW. The company is developing 7-MW-turbines for

offshore wind power Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ca ...

. Tests are planned for 2013 in Europe. On 27 September 2013, MHI and Vestas Wind Systems announced a joint-venture named MHI Vestas Offshore Wind to develop offshore wind energy based on Vestas' V164 8.0MW turbine. In 2020, MHI acquired 2.5% of Vestas by transferring its 50% of MHI Vestas to Vestas, and receiving 5 million new Vestas shares.

Products

Two_Japan_Air_Self_Defense_Force_F-15_jets

MHI's products include: * Aerospace systems ** Aircraft *** Mitsubishi F-1 ***

Mitsubishi F-2 The Mitsubishi F-2 is a multirole fighter derived from the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, and manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, with a 60/40 split in manufacturing betw ...

*** Mitsubishi F-15J ***

*** Mitsubishi MH2000 ***

*** Mitsubishi MU-300 Diamond *** Mitsubishi RP-1 *** Mitsubishi T-2 *** Mitsubishi Regional Jet *** Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin *** CRJ Series - acquired from

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation, a division of Bombardier Inc., is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. The company currently produces the Global and Challenger series of business jets. At its peak, Bombardier operated manufacturing plants in 27 c ...

models 700 series onward in 2019 and completed mid 2020; renamed as MHI RJ Aviation Group. ** Space launch vehicles: ***

H-II The H-II (H2) rocket was a Japanese satellite launch system, which flew seven times between 1994 and 1999, with five successes. It was developed by NASDA in order to give Japan a capability to launch larger satellites in the 1990s. It was the fi ...

***

*** H-III *** N-I (with license from

McDonnell-Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1 ...

) *** N-II (with license from

) *** H-I (with license from

) ** Spacecraft and satellites: *** HTV-1 *** Hayato (satellite) *** HYFLEX ***

Kibo (ISS module) Kibo may refer to: * Kibō (ISS module), Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), component of the International Space Station * Kibo, a volcanic cone forming the main summit of Mount Kilimanjaro * An alias of James "Kibo" Parry, who as "Kibo" became a c ...

*** Kounotori 2 *** Kounotori 3 *** Kounotori 4 *** Kounotori 5 *** Kounotori 6 *** Kounotori 7 *** Negai *** SDS-1 *** SDS-4 ***

SELENE In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

*** Waseda-SAT2 ***

WINDS Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

***Spacecraft components **** AMAZ *

Air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

and

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

systems * Defense Type10MBT

Armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

s *** Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle *** Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer ** Tanks *** Type 10 *** Type 90 Kyū-maru *** Type 87 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun *** Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV ** Missiles *** AAM-1 (Japanese missile) infrared homing air-to-air missile *** AAM-2 all-aspect infrared homing air-to-air missile ***

AAM-3 The Mitsubishi AAM-3 or Type 90 air-to-air missile () is a short-range all-aspect air-to-air missile developed by Japan. It has been officially operated since 1991, and is expected to ultimately replace the US AIM-9 Sidewinder. Developed as a ...

all-aspect infrared homing air-to-air missile ***

AAM-4 The Mitsubishi AAM-4 (Type 99 air-to-air missile, ) is a medium-range active radar homing air-to-air missile. It is a modern beyond-visual-range missile developed in Japan and intended to replace the semi-active radar homing AIM-7 Sparrow missil ...

*** AAM-5 *** Nike J surface-to-air missile *** Type 12 surface-to-ship missile *** Type 80 air-to-ship missile *** Type 88 surface-to-ship missile *** Type 90 ship-to-ship missile *** Type 91 air-to-ship missile *** Type 93 air-to-ship missile **

Warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as ...

*** ''Atago''-class destroyer *** ''Harushio-''class submarine *** ''Hatakaze-''class destroyer *** ''Kongō''-class destroyer *** ''Kongō''-class battlecruiser *** ''Tachikaze''-class destroyer *** ''Takanami-''class destroyer *** ''Natsushio''-class submarine *** ''Oyashio-''class submarine *** ''Sōryū-''class submarine *** ''Hayabusa''-class patrol boat *** ''Yamato''-class battleship *** ''Unryū''-class aircraft carrier **

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es * Desalination equipment *

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s * Electric buses * Energy equipment ** Fossil fuel electricity generation equipment ***

Boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s ***

Combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...

s ***

Gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

s ***

Steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s **

Fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

s ** Renewable energy equipment ***

Wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s ** Traction batteries. *

Forklift A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...

s * Industrial machinery **

Injection molding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...

machine **

Machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...

s **

Compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...

s ** Paper and

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

machinery * Pepsi Spire * Railway vehicles ** Crystal Mover ** K-stock metro cars with Rotem -

MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...

** Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3 RT8D5 LRVs with ČKD Tatra **Traction motors * Robots ** MEISTeR (Robot) * Ships and marine structures **

Cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s ***'' Sapphire Princess'' *** ''Diamond Princess'' *** M/S ''Amadea'' *** M/S ''Asuka II'' ***'' O'Mega,'' built as a small cruise ship, but was converted into a

luxury yacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from t ...

between 2002 and 2003. ***'' AIDAprima'' ***'' AIDAperla'' **

Ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

s ** LPG carriers **

Oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

s **

Deep-submergence vehicle A deep-submergence vehicle (DSV) is a deep-diving crewed submersible that is self-propelled. Several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs. DSVs are commonly divided into two types: research DSVs, which are used for ex ...

s *** DSV ''Shinkai 2000'' *** DSV ''Shinkai 6500'' **''

Chikyū is a Japanese scientific drilling ship built for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). The vessel is designed to ultimately drill beneath the seabed, where the Earth's crust is much thinner, and into the Earth's mantle, deeper than an ...

'' (Ocean-going Drilling Vessel) *

Turbochargers In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

Controversies

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries apologized and compensated victims of Chinese forced labor by Japan during World War II in 2015.

Yonhap News Agency Yonhap News Agency (; ) is a major news agency in South Korea. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures, and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea. History Yonhap was esta ...

criticized Mitsubishi for rescuing Chinese victims while turning a blind eye to Korean victims. On 28 November 2018, MHI was ordered by the South Korea Supreme Court to pay 150 million won ($133,000; £104,000) in compensation to 10 surviving Koreans who were victims of forced labor which the company oversaw during the

Japanese occupation of Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. Eighteen family members of other victims of the forced labour overseen by MHI, who had previously sued sometime before 2008, were now able to receive the compensation as well by the decision. All twenty-eight plaintiffs had previously filed a lawsuit in Japan, but had their lawsuit dismissed by the Supreme Court of Japan in 2008. The Japanese government has officially disputed the lawsuit and defined the verdict as "a breach of the international law", citing the 1965 agreement which was made by the two nations to establish

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, since all of the "problems concerning property, rights, and interests" that had been existed between the two countries and respective peoples thereof during the occupation era "have been settled completely and finally". During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, MHI refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. Research from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

updated on 28 April 2022 identifying how companies were reacting to Russia's invasion identified MHI as one of the companies "defying demands for exit/reduction of activities".

Notes

References

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External links