Japanese Businesses Expanding Space-Related Operations; Government Making Plans to Increase Public Support
This striking trend includes automakers, banks and other businesses with no prior connections to space. Startups are also joining the field one after another.
However, competition is increasingly fierce, and for now the United States and China are the frontrunners. Japanese companies in the field will not flourish without cooperation between the public and private sectors.
New possibilities
In June, Honda Motor Co. became the first private company in Japan to successfully launch and land a reusable small rocket. To do this, the company used technology it had cultivated for projects such as developing self-driving vehicles.
Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of the automaker, was in charge of research and development of the reusable rocket. In an address given in Tokyo on July 8, Honda R&D President Keiji Otsu said emphatically, 'Space is a place of new possibilities.'
Major companies in such fields as telecommunications and financial services are enhancing their space-related operations, and a growing number of startups are entering the field.
According to research by the Spacetide Foundation, a general incorporated entity for promotion of space development, the number of startups in the space development field in 2025 was 109, an increase of about 40% from three years ago.
¥260 trillion market
With space being used more and more in fields such as national security and telecommunications, related industries are expected to grow rapidly. The global market size for space businesses is predicted to exceed ¥260 trillion in 2035, about triple what it was in 2023.
According to the Cabinet Office, the number of rocket launches conducted by the United States in 2024 was 153, while China had 66, putting those two countries at the head of the pack for use of space-related technology. Japan conducted only five launches last year.
Many of the American rocket launches were for commercial purposes, as more than half were made by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, which uses reusable rockets to minimize costs.
Cost and speed vital
One issue that Japanese companies face is the high cost of conducting rocket launches.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. aims to bring the cost of launching a rocket down to about ¥5 billion — half what it has been up to now — with its new primary rocket model, the H3, which it developed in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The government's Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, approved by the Cabinet in June, stipulates that the nation's space development policies should be enhanced. It sets a goal of boosting the size of the domestic market to ¥8 trillion in the first half of the 2030s, double what it was in 2020.
A senior official of an economy-related government entity pointed out that victory in space development goes to whoever is fastest. Thus whether Japan wins or loses in this field will come down to the speed at which projects can be commercialized.
Spacetide's Representative Director Masayasu Ishida said, 'Many countries all over the world, not just the major ones, are trying to cultivate space-related industries. It is essential also for Japan to stimulate demand and acquire human resources, technologies and investment.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
35 minutes ago
- Japan Times
BOJ Is said to see potential rate hike environment this year
Bank of Japan officials see the possibility of mulling another interest rate hike this year after the U.S. and Japan struck a trade deal this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The officials view the deal as reducing a key source of uncertainty for Japan's economy and businesses, allowing the central bank to focus on monitoring the tariffs' actual impact in incoming economic data, the people said. With more clarity over trade, the central bank may be able to make a decision on policy at an earlier stage after parsing data and information from companies. The yen strengthened to as much as ¥146.82 against the dollar, and Japanese government bond futures fell shortly after the report was published. Provided there's no change to the pact that sets most tariffs at 15%, the officials expect the central bank to have enough data at least by the end of the year to be able to consider whether a rate hike would be appropriate, the people said. The BOJ will also be monitoring Japan's price trend and the progress of other nations' trade talks as it mulls that possibility, they said. Any move to raise rates this year would align with growing speculation in markets. Swaps traders are pricing in roughly 80% odds of a hike by year-end, up from around 60% before the trade deal was announced. In a Bloomberg survey conducted just before the trade deal report, January remained the most popular pick for when the next rate hike may come, with 36% of respondents choosing that month. October was the next favorite, with 32% opting for it. The latest views from the officials suggest there's no immediate rush to increase the benchmark rate ahead of a policy meeting ending on July 31, as they wait to assess the likely impact from tariffs. They also indicate that the trade agreement opens the door to mulling rate hikes after the BOJ previously indicated a temporary pause for the hiking cycle due to uncertainty over the negotiations. Japan's deal with the U.S. sets car and across-the-board tariffs at 15%, lower than the implemented 25% duty on cars and threatened broad tax at the same rate. The BOJ officials note that the trade outcome was roughly within the range of the BOJ's expectations and it's probably unnecessary to make a drastic change in the central bank's overall economic outlook, the people said. The officials will also be checking whether Japan's underlying price trend is rising toward the central bank's 2% target, after it's been running stronger than expected lately largely due to food inflation. The BOJ board is likely to consider raising its inflation outlook in its quarterly economic outlook report at next week's policy meeting, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month. japan's pace of price growth has been among the highest for Group of Seven countries, and has stayed at or above the BOJ's 2% target for more than three years. Persistent inflation was a key focus of the upper house election on Sunday, and contributed to a historic defeat for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition. With speculation swirling over how long Ishiba may last in his role, additional political instability could be a source of concern for the BOJ as it mulls the timing of its next rate hike. The central bank has repeatedly communicated its stance that it will hike rates if its economic outlook is realized, hinting that rate increases will happen as long as the economy and inflation develop in line with their expectations, even in the absence of a positive surprise. Speaking shortly after the trade pact announcement this week, Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida said there's a higher likelihood of the BOJ's economic outlook being realized.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Fed, BOJ Struggle Under Uncertainty
A Japanese expert explains what to expect from the upcoming policy meetings by the central banks of Japan and the US.
an hour ago
Japan Bracing for Pressure to Increase Defense Spending
News from Japan Politics Jul 25, 2025 17:06 (JST) Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government is preparing for increased pressure from the United States to boost defense spending after the two countries announced a trade agreement this week. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the Japan-U.S. alliance, making Japanese defense spending a likely focus of future discussions on bilateral relations. The White House announced "additional billions of dollars annually of purchases of U.S. defense equipment" by Japan under the trade deal. But Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Tokyo did not promise new purchases. Japan rather explained its existing defense equipment procurement plan to the U.S. side in the trade talks, he said. "We explained the plan as our purchases of defense equipment help to improve the trade imbalance between Japan and the United States," Hayashi said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
