¥80 Mil. Crowdfunded in 2 Months for Last Surviving WWII Japanese Fighter Shiden Kai

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:26 JST, September 7, 2025

Over ¥80 million was raised through crowd funding to build a new exhibition hall in Ehime Prefecture to house the last surviving Shiden Kai fighter plane in Japan from World War II.

The donations, which came from 3,100 donors between July 1 and Sept. 5, far exceeding the goal of ¥57 million. The large sum is believed to be due to this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the WWII, which may have led to increased public interest.

Shiden Kai, a Japanese imperial navy fighter that was packed with cutting-edge Japanese technologies from the early 1940s, were produced during the final years of the pacific war.

The last surviving plane, which has been exhibited at a hall in Ainan in the prefecture since 1980, was found at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of the town. The prefectural government plans to build a new hall in 2026, where the aircraft will be transferred from its current facility, which has deteriorated from aging, after undergoing maintenance.