“This particular plane was found decaying in Papua New Guinea in the 1970s. It was owned by an American until Japanese businessman Masahiro Ishizuka purchased it and brought it to Japan last September.” for remainder see:
and from a different article:
“The aircraft was discovered back in the 1970s after it had crashed in Papua New Guinea during the war. Since 2008 a project called Zero Enterprise has spent years renovating and repairing the fighter in Anchorage, Alaska. Now that the plane is finished it is being shipped back to Japan for its inaugural flight.”
Thanks for the links.