Reading Professor Hiwatari's questions about air cargo traffic reminded me of a question I've had in my mind every time I've passed through a Japanese airport.
It seems to me that Japanese industry is not involved in the business of airframe manufacture. My preception is that Japanese companies maintain large fleets of mainly 747 jumbos. Can anyone tell me if there is a significant airframe industry in Japan? If not, can can anyone offer an explanation as to why not? I've wondered if Japanese industry was barred from airframe production as part of the occupation. Obviously there are a host of other possible explanations for Japanese absence from the sector, if Japanese industry is in fact absent from the sector. Please forgive me if the answer to my idle musing is incredibly obvious - I've been too lazy to go looking for an explanation in the literature.

Michael Connor, Wolfville, Nova Scotia