A March 20 Nikkei article announced Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries (MHI) will go forward with the Mitsubishi Regional
Jet (MRJ) program. Also on March 20, a 35-year veteran of
the Japanese aviation industry, Masao Suzuki, told EconOff
the large ANA and JAL purchases, nearly 100 aircraft
combined, are being arranged under GOJ pressure via retired
bureaucrats who are now working for the Japanese aircraft
carriers. In exchange, Suzuki said, the carriers may receive
Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) benefits like slots and
protection from international competition. An industry
representative told Nagoya PO it is a widely held belief in
Japan's aviation community that MHI has a GOJ guarantee for a
certain number of MRJ orders. We cannot substantiate that
assertion, however.