Chinese
Spring Airlines announced in 2011 that it had plans to establish a subsidiary in Japan; it would be the first Chinese airline to do so. Spring Airlines was required to find one or more local partners due to Japanese legal restrictions that would limit its investment to a minority stake. When it launched, the airline was 33% owned by
Spring Airlines, a Chinese low-cost carrier, with the remainder held by various Japanese investors. The airline is now majority-owned and controlled by
Japan Airlines. having filed in September 2013 with 1.5 billion yen of
equity capital, of which Spring Airlines invested 33%. The remainder of the airline's capital was provided by Japanese financial institutions, IT enterprises and trading companies, among others. There were plans to raise a further 4.5 billion yen of capital prior to commencement of operations. Spring Airlines Japan planned to use primarily Japanese staff, such as former
Japan Airlines (JAL) pilots. Its head of operations, Minoru Uchida, was formerly a JAL pilot. In July 2021,
JAL Group increased its capital and expanded its shares, and Spring Airlines' shareholding in the company was reduced from 56% to 30%; while JAL Group's investment ratio to Spring Airlines Japan increased to two-thirds, and Spring Airlines Japan became a subsidiary of JAL Group. In October, the company name was changed from "Spring Airlines Japan Co., Ltd." to "Spring Japan Co., Ltd." ==Destinations==