LDP Stresses Need to Include Space Surveillance and Rocket Capability Enhancements in Security Documents

Aiming to Expand the Space Industry to 125 Trillion Won by 2040
Emphasis on the Need to Support Rocket Manufacturing and Launch Facilities

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is reportedly planning to recommend to the government that the three major security documents, which are scheduled to be revised within this year, include measures to strengthen space surveillance capabilities and rocket launch capacity.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources on June 8, the Liberal Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Space Development intends to deliver its opinion to the government that such policies should be incorporated into the three key security documents—namely, the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Program—as well as in Japan’s Basic Space Plan.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the H3 No. 7 rocket carrying the new cargo resupply spacecraft HTV-X No. 1 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu, at 9 a.m. on October 26 last year. Yonhap News

The Special Committee on Space Development believes that China and Russia are developing technologies to interfere with other countries’ artificial satellite transmissions. In response, Japan is urging the continued launch of satellites equipped with space domain awareness (SDA) capabilities to monitor the satellite activities of other nations. The committee also recommended that Japan expedite the establishment of a satellite communications network capable of responding to radio interference and satellite signal interception by foreign countries.

Additionally, the committee is calling for the expansion of Japan’s space industry market to 13 trillion yen (approximately 125 trillion won) by 2040, and emphasized the need to secure funding for the space strategy fund and to provide focused support for rocket manufacturing and launch facilities.

Meanwhile, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that as the Japanese government pushes to revise the three major security documents with the goal of strengthening defense capabilities—and as discussion has arisen over potentially revising the country’s “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” of not possessing, manufacturing, or allowing the entry of nuclear weapons—73 local assemblies across Japan have submitted statements calling for the maintenance of these principles. Mainichi explained that local governments expressed concerns in response to discussions within Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet about possibly reconsidering the provision prohibiting the introduction of nuclear weapons.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.