Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Nagasaki-based shipyard and industrial works, with activities spanning ships, marine machinery, energy systems, and other heavy industrial products.
Last updated September 25, 2026
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Overview
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery is the Nagasaki shipbuilding and manufacturing operation of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a Japanese heavy-industry group. Its roots trace to 1857, when construction began on the Nagasaki Iron Foundry under the Tokugawa shogunate. MHI’s own history records that in 1884 its founder, Yataro Iwasaki, borrowed the government’s Nagasaki Shipyard facilities and named the operation Nagasaki Shipyard, beginning Mitsubishi’s shipbuilding business there. The current shipyard is therefore best understood as a long-standing operating works within MHI, rather than as an independent company or consumer-facing product brand. The facility operates across three locations: Nagasaki, Koyagi, and Isahaya. Its work extends beyond shipbuilding. The official site lists thermal and geothermal power plants, fuel cells, coal gasification combined-cycle power, marine machinery, aircraft-engine parts, high-density outfitted vessels, defense equipment, and space equipment among its activities. Its history also describes a long-running combination of ship and machinery manufacturing, with accumulated engineering expertise applied to naval vessels, advanced ship outfitting, power generation, and next-generation energy development. The operation belongs to MHI, whose broader product portfolio covers energy and the environment, industrial machinery, logistics, mobility, ships and ocean-related offerings, aviation, and space and defense. The Nagasaki site’s own official description emphasizes deliveries in Japan and overseas, while the supplied material does not specify individual export markets, a separate corporate ownership structure, or a stand-alone listing. It is based in Nagasaki, Japan, and remains an active MHI operating site. The evidence gives no separately identified founder for the 1857 facility; Iwasaki is associated with Mitsubishi’s 1884 assumption of the shipyard, not with the original 1857 construction.
History
The history of the Nagasaki works begins before its association with Mitsubishi. In 1857, the Tokugawa shogunate began construction of the Nagasaki Iron Foundry, described by MHI as Japan’s first full-scale Western-style factory. The works was renamed Nagasaki Iron Works in 1860, and its factory buildings were completed in 1861. In 1868 it came under the Meiji government. A first dry dock was completed at Tateyama in 1879. Mitsubishi entered the history of the works in 1884, when Yataro Iwasaki borrowed the government’s facilities and the company began shipbuilding there under the name Nagasaki Shipyard. Mitsubishi acquired the facilities in 1887. The works subsequently underwent several corporate and institutional name changes as Mitsubishi’s businesses developed. In 1893 it became Mitsubishi Joint-Stock Company Mitsubishi Shipyard. The Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Company was established in 1917, and in 1934 the works took the name Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard following the establishment of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The site expanded its engineering and manufacturing capabilities alongside its shipbuilding work. Its milestones included completion of a ship-model testing tank in 1907 and a 500-kilowatt turbine in 1908. During the following decades, it added shipbuilding infrastructure, turbine and boiler production capacity, and machinery facilities. The battleship Musashi was completed there in 1942. After the postwar division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1950, the Nagasaki works became part of West Japan Heavy Industries. It returned to the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding name in 1952. In 1964, the three divided Mitsubishi heavy-industry companies were reunited, and the facility again became Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard. The works continued to develop its facilities and product range in the postwar period. Major milestones included completion of two 300,000-deadweight-ton docks in 1965, the Koyagi construction dock in 1972, an Isahaya factory in 1985, and a space-equipment factory in 1991. The shipyard completed the cruise ship Crystal Harmony in 1990 and the cruise ships Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess in 2004. Other milestones listed by MHI include a wind-power-equipment factory in 2004 and completion of the Megami Bridge in 2005. Today, the Nagasaki operation works from the Nagasaki, Koyagi, and Isahaya factories. MHI lists a broad range of current activities there, including thermal and geothermal plants, fuel cells, coal gasification combined-cycle power, marine machinery, aircraft-engine parts, high-density outfitted ships, defense equipment, and space equipment. The works’ history and current activities reflect a wider remit than shipbuilding alone, while its ownership and operation remain within Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
- 2005
Megami Bridge was completed.
[3] - 2004
The cruise ships Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess were completed.
[3] - 1991
The space-equipment factory was completed.
[3] - 1990
The cruise ship Crystal Harmony was completed.
[3] - 1985
The Isahaya factory was completed.
[3] - 1972
The Koyagi construction dock was completed.
[3] - 1965
Two 300,000-deadweight-ton docks were completed.
[3] - 1964
The three Mitsubishi heavy-industry companies were reunited.
[3] - 1952
The works returned to the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding name.
[3] - 1950
The works became part of West Japan Heavy Industries.
[3]
Products and positioning
A historic, multi-activity heavy-industry works within Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, combining shipbuilding and marine machinery with energy, aerospace-component, defense, and space-related manufacturing.
Ships and high-density outfitted vessels
Shipbuilding is part of the works’ long-standing activity; the current site description also identifies high-density outfitted vessels.
Marine machinery
Marine machinery is among the activities listed for the Nagasaki works.
Power-generation plants and systems
The site lists thermal and geothermal plants, fuel cells, and coal gasification combined-cycle power among its activities.
Aircraft-engine parts, defense equipment, and space equipment
These are included in the Nagasaki site’s official list of activities.
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