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Launch industry support in Japan

The United States isn’t the only country where launch vehicle manufacturers look to the government for financial support. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Ltd is seeking subsidies from the Japanese government to cover the costs of the H-2A rocket. MHI, according to the article, is seeking 2-3 billion yen ($17-25 million) from the government per launch, which costs an estimated 10 billion yen ($85 million) each. The subsidies, which would technically cover “the cost of inspecting launch facilities and repairing the damaged launch pad after blastoff”, according to the report, would make the vehicle more competitive on the commercial launch market, according to MHI, by allowing it to charge customers as little as 7 billion yen ($59 million). A government official contacted by the newspaper did not appear to be particularly disposed to giving MHI any financial support.

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