Japan began its history of air transport in the early 1920s with three small domestic services. The very first flight was between Sakai and Tokushima on November 3, 1922. In 1928 the three services merged into the government backed Japan Air Transport Service. Because the government provided a huge subsidy to JAT and the building of the Tokyo Haneda Airport, they had free use of the aircraft and airport. The military took advantage of the offer and used the facilities for the Manchurian Invasion of 1931 and subsequently broke off into three international airlines: Manchurian Airways, Huitong Airways and China Airways. The 1930s saw an ebb and flow of profits, but the airlines were primarily used for passenger transport. Commercial aviation virtually ceased after the start of World War II.
Japan Airlines was the first commercial aviation service after World War II. They were founded in 1951 and initially only offered domestic flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. By 1954 they had opened offices in New York City, Honolulu and and Los Angeles. A month after opening the Los Angeles office opened, Japan Airlines began international flights to San Francisco. Throughout the 1950s Japan Airlines flourished with offices opening internationally. At the same time, All Nippon Airways, founded in 1952, began growing as well. Smaller budget airlines later joined the ranks of Japanese owned airlines including SkyMark Airlines, Air Do, Skymex and Star Flyer.
Japanese airlines as a whole have a decent reputation. In 2007 All Nippon Airways (ANA) won Air Transport World's Airline of the Year award. They were noted for their excellent departure rates and dedication to safety. According to ATW, ANA "was one of the first to meet the IATA Operational Safety Audit standards and last year announced its participation in a new Line Operations Safety Audit." Japan Airlines has a high safety rating as well, although their reputation was at a low following two crashes in the 1980s. JAL received government bailouts following near bankruptcy.
Because Japan Airlines is the biggest Japanese carrier, they've been featured throughout pop culture. American pop star Janet Jacket danced in a Japan Airlines commercial that aired domestically. Two television dramas centered around JAL as well. The1970s featured Attention Please and in the following decade was Stewardess Monogatari. Both focused on young women training to become flight attendants. All Nippon Airways funded their own pop-culture endeavors.
Japan Airlines has headquarters in Tokyo's Harita Airport, Tokyo International Airport, Nagoya's Chubu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport. All Nippon Airways has headquarters in those as well as New Chitose Airport and Kansai International Airport. Skymark Airlines are headquartered only in Tokyo International Airport.
