Japan fears aftershocks of JAL's Airbus order

[TOKYO] For five decades, Boeing has awarded bigger and bigger shares of its supply contracts to Japanese firms, but that could change after Japan Airlines' shock defection to Airbus and as the US planemaker seeks to win orders in China.

Boeing's carbon composite 787 is 35 per cent made in Japan - as big a share as it builds in-house - but Japanese aviation insiders fear the Dreamliner could be the high water mark of the industry's partnership with the US company.

The close co-operation has not only benefited Japan's industrial giants Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries - it has also enabled Boeing to dominate one of the world's biggest aviation markets with a share of more than 80 per cent.