AirAsia Japan's first incarnation was founded in July 2011, and was based at Tokyo's Narita International Airport until the airline ceased operations during October 2013, rebranding as Vanilla Air.

[8] AirAsia Japan announced in August 2013 that it would continue operation under its current branding through 26 October 2013, before the airline's rebranding as Vanilla Air effective 1 November 2013.

[11] AirAsia announced that it would start a new joint venture operation in Japan at a later date with a different partner, but the Nikkei reported that this seemed unlikely given foreign ownership restrictions, and the fact that the only seasoned Japanese airline operators outside of the ANA group consisted of JAL, which had already invested in the Jetstar Japan joint venture, and Skymark Airlines, the involvement of which was unlikely.

[13] Its initial capital consisted of JPY7 billion (US$69 million), with Yoshinori Odagiri, CEO from the previous incarnation of AirAsia Japan, returning as chairman.

[27][28] Before the shutdown, AirAsia Japan's employees were invited to apply for voluntary retirement, but these and other steps failed to solve the carrier's financial problems.

On 17 November 2020, AirAsia Japan filed for bankruptcy proceedings in the Tokyo District Court, and was the first Japanese airline to cease operation following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[29] The first incarnation of AirAsia Japan launched in August 2012, with its operations based at Tokyo's Narita International Airport prior to the airline's closing and subsequent rebranding as Vanilla Air after October 2013.