Seattle ? Wings for the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner will be built in Japan, the first time outside companies have been given the lead in wing production for a Boeing Co. commercial jet, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday.

Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said the award of primary 7E7 wing work and some key fuselage production to Japan would be announced next week, along with decisions on which Boeing operations or subcontractors would build other key parts.

Some wing work will be done by Boeing in Tulsa, Okla., the newspaper reported.

Among Japanese companies, Mitsubishi will have the lead role, Fuji and Kawasaki also will have substantial work and Shinmaywa and Nippi will participate to a lesser degree, the sources said.

The five companies’ combined share of 7E7 production will be significantly more than their 21 percent share of airframe work on the Boeing 777 and 15 percent on the 767, the sources said.

According to the report, the largest 7E7 component that will be manufactured in the Puget Sound area — Boeing’s largest employment center — is the composite tail fin, to be produced at a plant in Frederickson, near Tacoma, Wash.

Boeing officials would not comment to the newspaper on what the sources said.

All wings for Boeing’s existing models except the 717 are made in the Puget Sound area, although some components are made in Japan and other countries. Wings for the 717 are made in Canada by Boeing Toronto Ltd.

The 717, the former MD-95, is assembled in Long Beach, Calif., the company’s only model now in production that originated with McDonnell Douglas before that company was merged into Boeing in 1997 and the only one produced outside the Puget Sound area.

Boeing employees watch a three-dimensional, animated video of the proposed Boeing 7E7 jet, at a meeting for airline representatives in Seattle. Boeing has been briefing about 80 representatives from 40 airlines and airplane financiers on the design, development and other aspects of the proposed fuel-efficient jet.

Union officials say the 7E7 wing and fuselage work would represent about 1,000 new jobs in Japan.

Other assembly decisions reported by the newspaper include:

l Nose section and cockpit, Boeing’s Wichita, division, which includes Tulsa.

l Wing-to-body fairing, a joining assembly, Boeing’s division in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

l Aft fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer assembly except for the vertical fin, Alenia Aeronautica in Italy and Vought Aircraft Industries in Texas.

Some fuselage work remains to be assigned, the sources said.

“The company doesn’t even view it (the 7E7) as an American-made product,” said Bill Barrett, who works at a Boeing plant in Auburn, Wash.

The 7E7, a more efficient twin-engine plane about the size of the 767, is expected to get the green light from Boeing’s board next month and enter service in 2008. Boeing officials have yet to decide where it will be assembled.

Industry analysts said the Japanese were expected to land substantial 7E7 work to assure sales amid fierce competition with Airbus, which for the first time is expected to surpass Boeing in commercial aircraft deliveries this year.

“To put it simply, Japan is one of the last jewels left in Boeing’s crown,” said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an aviation consultant in Fairfax, Va. “There is nothing like Japan in terms of market size and market loyalty and industrial loyalty.”

Japanese manufacturers make some parts for the European manufacturer’s A380 but did not take an equity stake in the superjumbo jet project.

“Playing the Japanese card is not just an offensive move for Boeing, it is a sound defensive move as well,” Aboulafia said. “If Boeing can keep Japan out of that, they are really doing some damage to the A380 business case.”