Rolls-Royce in Japan

The Rolls-Royce relationship with Japan spans more than 100 years, going back to when Vickers (now part of Rolls-Royce) build the battleship Mikasa. Currently, Rolls-Royce provides products and services for civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy customers in Japan.

The Japan Office was one of the first occupants of the Kasumigaseki building when it opened in 1968. Branch offices with specific business responsibilities are located around Japan close to our customers and partners.

Partnership with Japan

Rolls-Royce's business relationships in Japan extend beyond just supplying products and services, and is built on strong partnerships with leading Japanese companies and research institutions.

Civil Aerospace

In the Civil Aerospace engine sector, Japanese companies are today involved not only in the production of Trent engine components and modules, but also play key roles in the development programmes themselves.

Companies such as KHI, MHI, IHI participate in the development of almost all of the Trent engine family as “Risk and Revenue Sharing Partners”.

On the Trent 1000 engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner™, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) is involved in the design and manufacture of the Intermediate Pressure Compressor (IPC) Module and some of the engine testing, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is involved in the design and manufacture of the combustor and the low pressure turbine blades.

In January 2009, Rolls-Royce announced the participation of KHI, MHI and Sumitomo Precision Products (SPP) in the Trent XWB engine which powers the Airbus A350 XWB.

Defence Aerospace

Rolls-Royce has partnered with Japanese companies in several long-standing initiatives in defence markets – KHI on the RTM322 and CTS800 engines, MHI with Model 250 and Dart, and IHI with T56 and AE 2100 engines.

Marine (Naval)

Many ships operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are powered by Rolls-Royce Tyne, Olympus and Spey marine propulsion systems.

Joint Research with NIMS

Rolls-Royce also collaborates with Japan in research and development. In 2006 Rolls-Royce began a joint research project with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) to develop next-generation superalloys for turbine blades on future engines, which will help reduce fuel consumption and emissions.