The first Japanese HondaJet will be delivered on December 20

HondaJet Elite

The HondaJet has received its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, paving the way for the delivery of the first aircraft in the country.

Honda says that now it has the type certificate in hand, it will deliver the first Japanese customer’s aircraft on December 20.

The company began its sales campaign in Japan earlier in the year, after appointing local aerospace company Marubeni Corporation as its Japanese sales agent.

It did not take long for the aircraft to find its place in Japan. By August, Honda said that it had received more than 10 orders for the aircraft.

Originally Honda was expecting the aircraft to be certificated early in 2019 and that the first delivery would take place before the end of summer 2019.

For Michimasa Fujino, president of Honda Aircraft, the first delivery of the HondaJet in Japan marks a personal milestone.

Speaking to CJI in October 2017, Mr. Fujino said that he really wanted to see the HondaJet operating in Japan as soon as possible, adding later that he would like to see this happen before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“I’m Japanese and I think this is a more Japanese-taste designed aircraft, so I really want to introduce it into the Japanese market as soon as possible.”