TOKYO/LONDON -- About an hour by train from downtown Tokyo, two five-story office towers in the quiet suburb of Akishima are an unlikely hub for Japan's jet engine industry. Inside, 2,000 employees of IHI, Japan's largest maker of jet engines, design everything from turbines for business jets to fan modules for Airbus and Boeing passenger liners.
The Global Combat Air Programme, a collaboration between Japan, Italy and the U.K., is tipped to be the future of Japan's air force as part of the government's more proactive approach to defense. © Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
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