Japan has seen more than 50 years of space development propelled by government but private companies’ activities are gaining momentum in a recent movement called “New Space”. Today’s environment is characterized by new policies, new players, new financial schemes, and new technology. The Japanese government sets an ambitious target of doubling the size of the space industry by the early 2030s and has been implementing a variety of measures to accelerate space activities in the private sector. In this context, there are more than 50 start-ups that are engaged in a wide range of space business. The number of space start-ups has doubled since 2015, encouraged by increasing social awareness and accelerating investment by large non-space corporations. In this session, Mr.Ishida will introduce an overview of the Japanese commercial space and startups.
