Japan Press Weekly

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2015 November 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Gov’t will upgrade spy satellite capabilities

The government plans to increase the number of Japan’s military spy satellites to ten from the current four, further accelerating the use of space for military purposes.

The Strategic Headquarters for Space Development headed by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on November 11 issued a draft time schedule for upgrading the information-gathering satellite system.

The draft also shows that the government will launch an early-warning satellite equipped with an infrared sensor to detect enemy missiles, for its verification tests in the FY 2019 as part of the ballistic missile defense system.

The government in fiscal 2016 will begin work to build a facility and operation system to monitor other countries’ satellites and space debris in cooperation with the Unites States, according to the draft.

The government has already poured more than one trillion yen in taxpayer money into the military satellite system since 1998, but has not made public the system’s level of performance and extent of operations in detail. In addition, satellite images have been designated as “special state secrets”.

At the time of the introduction of the satellite system, the government explained that its purpose is not only for “security” but also for “responses to large-scale disasters”. However, after the massive earthquake and tsunamis hit Japan’s Tohoku region in 2011, none of the satellite images of disaster-hit areas were made publicly available due to “security concerns”.

It was only in September of this year that the government for the first time released some images in the wake of heavy rains striking the Kanto and Tohoku regions. The data, however, were not helpful at all due to overediting of information.

Past related articles:
> Japan puts another surveillance satellite into orbit [March 27, 2015]
> Gov’t labels satellite images of crippled plant as ‘secrets’ [November 21, 2013]
> To not show its satellite images, gov’t buys US satellite pics [July 22, 2011]
> Information-gathering satellite fails to play role in March 11 disaster [July 10, 2011]
> Use images gathered by spy satellites: JCP Yoshii [April 14, 2011]