AINAN, Ehime Prefecture--Prefectural officials are asking the public to help fund a new exhibition hall that will showcase a rare Imperial Japanese Navy fighter aircraft that is believed to be the only one still in existence in Japan. 

The Shiden-Kai model, which was developed during the closing days of World War II, is on public display in this Shikoku town. It was added to the Important Aviation Heritage list in July.

Prefectural officials plan to replace the aging Shiden-Kai exhibition facility in Ainan that currently houses it. 

They are collecting donations on a crowdfunding platform to cover the expenses for relocating the aircraft and other necessary work.

JAPANESE TECHNICAL MARVEL

Japan manufactured some 400 planes of the Shiden-Kai model, the de facto successor to the Zero fighter, after it opened the war against the United States in 1941.

The Shiden-Kai represented the most advanced Japanese aviation technology of the time and has been recognized, even overseas, as one of Japan’s top fighter planes.

The Shiden-Kai plane on display in Ainan measures 9.34 meters long and 11.99 meters wide.

Operated by the 343rd Naval Air Group that was deployed in Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture, the fighter crash-landed into the sea in Hisayoshi Bay following an aerial combat on July 24, 1945, just weeks before the war ended.

It was discovered on the seabed by a local diver in 1978 and was salvaged by the prefectural government in the following year.

The plane has been on display, since 1980, on the top of Mount Baseyama in Ainan as a “symbol of yearning for lasting peace.” The Baseyama mountaintop is also the seat of the Uwa Sea observation tower.

‘CULTURAL PROPERTY VALUE’

The Important Aviation Heritage list has been maintained by the Japan Aeronautic Association, a general incorporated foundation whose goals include fostering aerospace culture, since 2007.

The Shiden-Kai is the 13th object to be included on the heritage list. Earlier inscriptions include the first mass-produced unit of the YS-11, the first transport plane model that was manufactured in postwar Japan, and an Imperial Japanese Army fighter of the Hien model.

The JAA studied the Shiden-Kai on-site before it inscribed the plane in the list.

JAA officials said the fighter’s powerful Homare engine, its “combat flaps” and other features are worthy of technical acclaim. The combat flaps were designed to adjust automatically according to speed and acceleration, thereby enabling the pilot to make sudden maneuvers.

They also said the repair work, which paid attention to preserving the plane’s original design, also has cultural property value.

“Few of Japan’s (wartime) aircraft have survived in the country because many of them were scrapped after the nation was defeated in the war,” said Shigeyoshi Kanda, a full-time director with the JAA Aviation Heritage Archive secretariat. “Historical records on them should be treasured.”

EXPENSIVE TO MOVE PLANE

The Shiden-Kai exhibition hall in Ainan is 45 years old and becoming dilapidated.

The prefectural government has decided to erect a new building on an adjacent plot of land, with a goal of having the building completed by the end of fiscal 2026.

Prefectural officials initially underestimated the budget for relocating the aircraft, which they believed could be moved simply by raising it with a crane.

A study by aircraft engineers showed, however, that additional work was needed to reduce the stress on the fighter’s body structure.

Making a platform for the relocation work and other processes were estimated to cost 48 million yen ($327,000).

The officials opened a crowdfunding project under the “hometown tax” format, wherein donors are entitled to receive tax credits and optional gifts in return for their contributions.

The crowdfunding project is scheduled to run through 11 p.m. on Sept. 5. It has raised more money than initially expected, as the first goal of 10 million yen was achieved in only three days after the project started on July 1 and the next target of 38 million yen was attained on Aug. 10.

The prefectural authorities have therefore set a third goal of 57 million yen.

The donations to be raised in the final stage will go to designing the facility so visitors will have opportunities to learn about accounts given by bereaved family members of Shiden-Kai pilots.

Part of the money will also be set aside for recording the Shiden-Kai’s shape data to prepare for future repairs, the officials said.

The optional gifts available for donors to the crowdfunding project include a set of original Shiden-Kai stickers, a pin accessory in the shape of a Shiden-Kai with a pearl grown in Ehime Prefecture, and a pair of sneakers designed by Soichi Sumoto, author of “Shidenkai the Sword Squad,” a work of manga that features ace Shiden-Kai pilots.

Residents of Ehime Prefecture are not eligible, under the “hometown tax” framework, to receive the optional gifts, but they are still entitled to invitations to events and other benefits, the officials added.

SPREADING MESSAGE OF PEACE

“We are not just simply raising donations,” said Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura. “We want many people to learn about our crowdfunding project, which will serve as an opportunity for reflecting on peace. This matters precisely now, given all the conflicts that are going on around the world.”

Visit the crowdfunding project website (https://readyfor.jp/projects/shidenkai, in Japanese) for more details.