July 7, 2011
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2011 July 6 - 12 [POLITICS]
Peaceful use of space may disappear from JAXA law |
The panel on June 30 proposed that the law be amended and JAXA’s supervisory authority be transferred to the Cabinet Office from the present science ministry.
At present, the science ministry, the industry ministry, and some other ministries and agencies individually deal with policymaking and budget requests concerning the use of space as well as coordinating arrangements with other countries’ space agencies.
The panel calls for a unification of policymaking under the control of the Cabinet Office.
Behind this move is an attempt to create a system to promote the use of space technologies for military as well as industrial purposes.
The Democratic, the Liberal Democratic, and the Komei parties in 2008 forcibly enacted a basic law on space, marking a turning point in Japan’s space policy which had adhered to the nonmilitary principle up to that time. The following year, the government drew up a plan to utilize military satellites as a national strategy, paving the way for military expansion in outer space.
In line with this plan, the prime minister’s panel emphasized the importance of the use of space in the fields of security, defense, and for the strengthening of industrial competitiveness.
The panel also suggested that JAXA be placed under the Cabinet Office as an enforcement organ of the government’s space policy.
JAXA has accomplished world-class achievements with the asteroid probe “Hayabusa”, the solar physics satellite “Hinode”, and the advanced land observing satellite “Daichi” under the principle of “peaceful uses, independence, democracy, and publication”. JAXA researchers and engineers have been able to pursue their studies out of the box of government control. This is because they have been free from concern for military affairs.
Is the government trying to mobilize them into a military and industrial promotion of space?
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