JAL Fraudulently Receives Subsidies for State Project

Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan Airlines has fraudulently received subsidies for a state project on next-generation air mobility, such as drones and so-called flying cars, by falsifying labor costs, it was learned Tuesday. The major Japanese airline plans to return the subsidies, totaling about 280 million yen. The misconduct may date back to 2022. According to JAL and other sources, the misconduct was detected in the project overseen by the government-affiliated New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO. Last year, the company instructed employees to record working hours in accordance with a plan that the company had submitted to NEDO before the project started, the sources said. This was apparently intended to receive the full amount of subsidies under the initial budget. The matter came to light in January, and an outside lawyer conducted an investigation. JAL will withdraw from projects commissioned by NEDO for this fiscal year, but will continue its research and development initiative on flying cars and others. The company said it will make comprehensive efforts to drastically overhaul its governance framework and prevent recurrence. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]