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The Japanese Ministry of Defense
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Yomiuri Shimbun publishes report quoting anonymous government official
The Japanese government is pursuing the use of satellites operated by private US companies to gather military intelligence, a Japanese newspaper reported. The Yomiuri Shimbun published a Sept. 23 report citing an anonymous Japanese government official as saying Tokyo was looking into an approach of attaching sensors for monitoring military activity to privately operated satellites in the US and other countries for use as military intelligence collection satellites. According to the report, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has allocated a research budget of 100 million yen (US$929,100) for the effort, which was inspired by recent prolific “space business” activities by US and other companies. The reason Japan is considering the use of private companies’ satellites has to do with fiscal constraints on its preferred approach of increasing its number of military satellites. Japan currently possesses seven reconnaissance satellites, including two optical satellites that capture the earth’s surface during the day and five radar satellites that use electromagnetic waves to capture images during the night or when weather conditions are poor. Japan plans to increase its number of reconnaissance satellites to 10 – but that number remains small compared to the 50 each possessed by the US and China. At a cost of 40 to 50 billion yen (US$371.68-464.6 milllion) a piece, the financial cost of launching new reconnaissance satellites is also steep. The Japanese government is also developing small satellites that can be used on an emergency basis when its current reconnaissance satellites are not functioning. Its plan is to develop satellites that weigh less than 100kg but are capable of photographing down to the meter level and detecting movements by people and vehicles. With many of Japan’s current reconnaissance satellites having entered extended operation after completing their design life, the measure is intended as a contingency for emergency situations. In a defense program outline announced last year, the Shinzo Abe administration named strengthening of cyber- and space-based military capabilities as important tasks. The Japan Self-Defense Forces plan to establish a “space operation corps” as a first-ever space unit next year, while introducing artificial satellites capable of monitoring space. The Japanese Defense Ministry has allocated a 2020 budget of 52.4 billion yen (US$486.9 million) for space-related spending. By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
