Akashi Airfield

Military and industrial conversion following World War II. The airfield's primary purpose was tied to the Kawasaki Aircraft Industry's production of military aircraft. After Japan's surrender, the Allied occupation forces banned aircraft manufacturing. Consequently, the airfield became obsolete. Kawasaki Heavy Industries pivoted the adjacent factory to producing non-aviation products like motorcycle engines, and the valuable land occupied by the airfield was redeveloped for industrial expansion.

The site of the former airfield has been completely redeveloped and is unrecognizable as an aviation facility. The land is now an integral part of the sprawling Kawasaki Heavy Industries Akashi Works. This major industrial plant is world-renowned for manufacturing motorcycles, personal watercraft (Jet Ski), general-purpose gasoline engines, and industrial robots. The coordinates provided (34.659556, 134.967694) place you directly within this active industrial complex. No remnants of the runway, hangars, or other airfield structures exist today.

Akashi Airfield was a private, factory-owned airfield operated by the Kawasaki Aircraft Industry (川崎航空機工業). Its historical importance is directly linked to its role during World War II as a critical site for Japan's aviation war effort. The airfield was used for the final assembly check, test flights, and delivery of newly manufactured military aircraft built at the adjacent Kawasaki Akashi Plant. It was notably the primary test and departure point for two of Japan's most famous aircraft of the war: the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Allied reporting name: 'Tony'), a high-performance liquid-cooled engine fighter, and the Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ('Nick'), a twin-engine heavy fighter. After its construction around 1940, thousands of military aircraft took their first flights from this runway before being delivered to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.

None. There are absolutely no plans or prospects for reopening Akashi Airfield. The land is fully occupied by one of Kawasaki's most important manufacturing plants and is situated within a densely populated urban and industrial area. The logistical, economic, and physical barriers to re-establishing an airfield on this site are insurmountable.