Photo/Illutration A re-creation of a VIP room aboard an exclusive government jet is on display at the Ishikawa Aviation Plaza in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture. The furniture, walls and ceiling were used in the original structure. (Jin Hirakawa)

KOMATSU, Ishikawa Prefecture--A VIP room aboard an exclusive government jet that was off limits to all but imperial family members, politicians and other dignitaries on foreign trips has been re-created at an aviation museum here.

Details of the room, which among other priority passengers hosted Junichiro Koizumi when he became the first prime minister to visit North Korea in 2002, were under wraps until now for national security reasons.

The room, resurrected at the Ishikawa Aviation Plaza, is one of two that were aboard a pair of Boeing 747-400 jets used to transport Japan's VIPs abroad from 1993 until March 2019, which operated with one serving as a backup to the other.

"We want as many people as possible to see the VIP room, which has been shrouded in mystery," said Yasumasa Shimizu, a senior official at the city's tourism and culture division.

No VIP room would be complete without a satellite phone, which can be spotted on a desk in the foreground. Sofas placed on both sides of a large TV monitor could be used as beds when their backrests were removed, according to museum representatives.

The furniture, walls, ceiling and other parts from the real 33-square-meter room located in the front of the plane were used to re-create it faithfully in the museum, the representatives said.

Visitors can view the room through a transparent board, but can't enter to set foot on the cream-colored carpet that once adorned the aircraft, which cost the government 36 billion yen ($335.7 million).

The jets, operated by the Air Self-Defense Force, flew to 100 countries after they went into service in 1993, and later took Koizumi to Pyongyang for his historic summit with then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, government officials said.

The aircraft over their careers flew roughly 14.6 million kilometers, equivalent to circling the Earth about 365 times.

The planes were retired from service in March last year. The Defense Ministry accepted applications for free use of the VIP room before it selected the Komatsu city government for the project.

The re-created room will remain on display for two years at the Ishikawa Aviation Plaza, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

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