Gifu

Gifu exists at Japan's crossroads—and that crossroads is building aerospace. The Nakasendō, one of five great Edo-period routes, connected east and west through this landlocked prefecture. For centuries, Seki made Japan's finest swords; Mino produced paper so strong the military used it in World War II. Now the same precision manufacturing tradition serves Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aerospace facilities in Kakamigahara.

The government bet is explicit: 23 municipalities in Gifu are designated as "Special Zone to Create Asia's No.1 Aerospace Industrial Cluster." Japan's aerospace and defense market is projected to grow from $76 billion (2025) to $99 billion (2030), and Gifu's small manufacturers are repositioning from automotive suppliers to aircraft component makers. One company's story captures the shift: "a small piece of Japan's vast bet on aerospace, a multibillion-dollar government effort to replace lost manufacturing jobs."

The industrial heartland extends from Nagoya into Gifu, with aerospace and automotive plants alongside traditional ceramics and kitchen knife production. Softopia Japan in Ōgaki and VR Techno Japan in Kakamigahara signal IT sector growth. By 2026, Gifu's question is whether aerospace can absorb workers from declining automotive employment—whether the precision that made Japanese swords legendary can translate to aircraft components. The crossroads prefecture is crossing again.