Japan's government has introduced competition into the space industry to foster private space corporations like U.S. SpaceX. The government will present missions to corporations and put them up for competition, providing contracts and funding to companies that deliver strong technology.
According to Nikkei on the 4th, Japan's government plans to invest a combined 14.3 trillion yen (about 130 trillion won) from the public and private sectors in the space industry by fiscal 2040. Priority investment areas are ▲ rockets and launch sites ▲ satellites and related services ▲ lunar exploration and low Earth orbit technology. Through this, Japan plans to significantly increase its domestic rocket launch count and support the growth of private space corporations.
Japan currently has fewer rocket launches than the United States and China. In 2025, the number of launches capable of placing satellites into orbit was 192 for the United States and 91 for China, but only 3 for Japan.
Satellites are used in many fields, including disaster monitoring, location information, and national security. However, if there are not enough rockets to send satellites into space, it is difficult to fully utilize related technologies even if they are developed.
Kobayashi Takayuki, a former minister in charge of space policy and the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council chair, said, "Securing the means to reach space is the most basic of basics," and noted, "For industrial development and national security, we must not depend on other countries."
Japan's government plans to increase the combined annual number of public and private rocket launches to 30 by the early 2030s. It also aims to raise the share of Japan-made satellites launched on domestic rockets from the current roughly 50% to 60–80%.
To that end, it is considering introducing a system similar to the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began in 2006. COTS is a program in which NASA entrusted private corporations with developing spacecraft and rockets to send cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA had multiple corporations compete and then provided funding to companies with superior technology.
SpaceX also grew through this program. With NASA's support, SpaceX developed rockets and spacecraft and has since established itself as a corporation leading the global space industry. As of the 3rd, its market capitalization was about $1.5 trillion.
Japan will also pursue a method in which the government presents space-related missions and signs product and service supply contracts with corporations that win the competition. The government will serve as an investor and technical advisor to reduce private corporations' development expense and risk burden.
Nikkei said, "Japan is seen as having favorable conditions to grow its rocket industry," adding that manufacturing technology and parts supply chains accumulated through the auto industry can be applied to rocket development. It also analyzed that, thanks to the geopolitical advantage of having seas to the east and south, it is easier to secure safe rocket flight paths.
Nakayama Satoshi, president of private rocket company Interstellar Technologies in Japan, said, "Japan can become a gateway for Asia and Oceania to venture into space going forward," and added, "Both the government and the private sector must take risks and grow space into an industry."
However, experts note that there are limits to growing the space industry with government support alone. That is because the space industry requires massive money for research and development and facility construction, and it takes a long time to recoup investments.
Nakasuka Shinichi, a satellite development expert and professor at Ritsumeikan University, said, "The political sphere must present a grand vision for why Japan is pursuing space development," and added, "The problem is that corporations possess excellent technology but fail to connect it to business."