Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a pivotal company in Japan's military industry, second only to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. as a major manufacturer of aircraft and submarines for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Inc. Kawasaki Heavy Industries started in the Meiji Restoration, its predecessor was Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard founded in 1878; in 1896, the name was changed to Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co.