Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo)

Order of Battle · Aircraft manufacturers · Japan

Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo)

Nippon Kokusai Kōkū Kōgyō K.K. · Nippon Kōkū Kōgyō · Nikkoku Kōgyō

A wartime builder of gliders, liaison planes and Jungmann trainers whose Hiratsuka works switched to bus bodies in 1946 and lives on today as Nissan Shatai.

1937Founded
Defunct 1946Status
6Aircraft on record
CountryJapanFounded1937HeadquartersHiratsuka, KanagawaStatusDefunct 1946
The story

Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo): the company and the aircraft that made its name

Built for the Army

Kokusai was a creature of Japan’s war economy. Nippon Kōkū Kōgyō was founded in 1937 and in 1941 merged with Kokusai Kōgyō to form Nippon Kokusai Kōkū Kōgyō. Its customer was almost entirely the Imperial Japanese Army, and its specialities were the unglamorous aircraft an army needs: trainers, light transports, liaison planes and gliders.

Gliders and a Japanese Storch

Its best-known design, the Ki-76, answered a 1940 Army request for an artillery spotter and is often compared with the German Fieseler Storch, though Japan had no Storch to copy until 1941 and the Ki-76 used Fowler flaps instead. In trials against an imported Storch it won on most counts except landing distance. Kokusai built 937 at Hiratsuka, some fitted with arrester hooks and depth charges for the Army’s own escort carrier, the Akitsu Maru. It also built 1,037 Ki-86s, licence copies of the Bücker Jungmann, and about 700 Ku-8 transport gliders, used in the Philippines.

From aircraft to Nissan bodies

Defeat forced a change of trade. In February 1946 the company was renamed Nikkoku Kōgyō and turned to railway vehicles and car bodies, completing its first bus body that November. A successor, Shin Nikkoku Kōgyō, took over the business in 1949 and began working with Nissan in 1951. The company is today Nissan Shatai, still headquartered in Hiratsuka.

A wartime builder of gliders, liaison planes and Jungmann trainers whose Hiratsuka works switched to bus bodies in 1946 and lives on today as Nissan Shatai.Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo) · verified 2026-10-03
At a glance

Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo) in numbers

The company

In short
Founded 1937

  • Nippon Kōkū Kōgyō founded 1937
  • Merged with Kokusai Kōgyō in 1941
  • Main plant at Hiratsuka

Production

Best known for
Ki-76 Stella

  • Ki-86 (Jungmann licence): 1,037
  • Ki-76: 937
  • Ku-8 glider: about 700

Today

Now
Nissan Shatai

  • Renamed Nikkoku Kōgyō in 1946
  • Nissan partnership from 1951

The Hiratsuka site still builds vehicles under the Nissan group.

The numbers

Ki-86 trainers built
1,037
Ki-76 built
937
Ku-8 gliders built
about 700
The aircraft

Every notable Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo) aircraft

Aircraft Role First flight Built Status Note
Kokusai Ki-59 (Army Type 1 Transport) Light transport 1941 59 Retired Developed from the TK-3 airliner prototype of 1938; Allied name Theresa
Kokusai Ki-76 (Army Type 3 Command Liaison) Liaison / artillery spotting 1941 937 Retired Allied name Stella; designed under Kozo Masuhara
Kokusai Ki-86 Primary trainer (Bücker Bü 131 licence) 1,037 Retired Army Type 4 Primary Trainer
Kokusai Ku-7 Manazuru Heavy transport glider 1942 2 Retired Twin-boom; could carry a light tank
Kokusai Ki-105 Ohtori Powered fuel transport 9 Retired Powered Ku-7; 300 ordered
Kokusai Ku-8 Transport glider 1943 about 700 Retired Engineless Ki-59; Allied name Gander
Places, people, records

Where Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo) built, who led it, what it achieved

Factories

  • Hiratsuka plant · Hiratsuka, Kanagawa — Ki-76 production; today Nissan Shatai

People

  • Kozo Masuhara · designer — Led the Ki-76 design
Timeline

Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo), year by year

1937

Nippon Kōkū Kōgyō founded

1938

TK-3 transport prototype flies

1941

Merger with Kokusai Kōgyō forms Nippon Kokusai Kōkū Kōgyō

1941

Ki-76 first flight

1942

Ki-76 enters quantity production

1943

Ku-8 glider first flight

1946

Renamed Nikkoku Kōgyō; turns to rail and vehicle bodies

1949

Shin Nikkoku Kōgyō takes over the business

1951

Partnership with Nissan

1971

Renamed Nissan Shatai

Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo)

Was the Kokusai Ki-76 a copy of the Fieseler Storch?
No. It was similar in concept, but Japan had no Storch to copy until 1941, and the Ki-76 used Fowler flaps and a radial engine.
What happened to Kokusai after the war?
It became Nikkoku Kōgyō in 1946, built vehicle bodies, and evolved into today’s Nissan Shatai.
What was Kokusai’s most-produced aircraft?
The Ki-86, a licence-built Bücker Jungmann trainer, with 1,037 built.
Did Kokusai build gliders?
Yes, including about 700 Ku-8 transport gliders and the giant Ku-7.

Continue the tour

Around Kokusai (Nippon Kokusai Koku Kogyo)

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Sources & Further Reading

Every fact, checked

Verified 2026-10-03.