In 2014, Teal Group noted, regional jet deliveries amounted to 6.8 percent of the global transportation market by value, down from 15 percent in 1989.

Still, the success of Embraer — which controls about half the market — as well as national industrial policies and pride have spurred other countries to build their own commercial jet business. In addition to Mitsubishi, two other regional jet programs are being developed, one in Russia with the Superjet, and the other in China with the Comac.

Japan’s last passenger plane was the YS-11, a turboprop aircraft. Between 1964 and 1973, only 182 of those planes were built by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing, a consortium of Japanese heavy industries, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which now owns Mitsubishi Aircraft; Kawasaki Heavy Industries; and Fuji Heavy Industries.

In recent years, Japan has developed a major aerospace industry building airframes, wings and other components for Boeing and Airbus. For example, about a third of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, including its wings, is manufactured in Japan. (A Japanese company also produced the plane’s batteries, which suffered from repeated problems and led to the fleet’s grounding for three months.)

Mitsubishi saw an opening when Bombardier focused on building a bigger jet, the C-Series, to compete with Airbus and Boeing, and Embraer initially failed to offer a new version of its regional jet with new, more fuel-efficient engines, known as turbofans.

Mitsubishi first unveiled the MRJ at the Paris Air Show in 2007. The Japanese company initially sought to build a jet made of carbon composite, capitalizing on its experience building composite structures for the Boeing 787. But as the plane’s design evolved, the company eventually settled on a more conventional metal airframe.

Still, Mitsubishi has said the plane will be less costly to operate than its rivals because of its more efficient engines. But some of the MRJ’s first-mover advantage has been eroded because of delays with the program.