Developereo
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The same applies to jumbo jets. We live in a global economy. Just because a nation can build and sell something, doesn't mean they can do so successfully against established and stiff competition. Excluding the USSR for a moment, Boeing had only one real competitor in the 1960's, and that was Douglas aircraft (which became McDonnell-Douglas). Boeing crushed Douglas with brilliant designs like the 7X7 series.
Along comes Airbus, a European consortium. It took massive government subsidies, and the sales of Airbus jets below cost, to become competitive with Boeing. Now, they are, and produce a fine aircraft, but it was a very difficult start-up.
Japan has (IMO) the technical expertise to do just about anything, from making nukes to spacecraft. The simply choose not to do much of this. Just because a nation can do something, doesn't mean they must.
That's the key point.
I remember Boeing and the US government complained very loudly about the huge government subsidies to prop up Airbus. Boeing was able to compete only because it is such a huge and established player in the market.
The Japanese can build a large commercial airliner, but they would have a hard time staying competitive. China, on the other hand, has a huge domestic market and deep pockets, so it can mount a successful bid against Boeing and Airbus. The only issue will be establishing a reputation.