05/24/2008In our editorial Thursday (Friday in the IHT/Asahi) on the newly enacted law that opens the way to Japan's space development for defense purposes, we urged the government to lay down clear principles for military use of space in the process of producing related legislation. The basic space law has effectively scrapped the long-standing "nonmilitary" principle of the nation's space program.
But it is not the only issue raised by the law, which prescribes a broad set of rules for space development efforts by both the public and private sectors.
The law defines the government's responsibilities and roles in space exploration. It requires the government to take measures to ensure a more comprehensive and strategic approach to space programs, such as the creation of a "space development strategic headquarters" headed by the prime minister. It will lead to a radical change in the organization for space development.
Japan's space program has been hampered by a compartmentalized administrative structure and the pluralized policy process. A shift to a more coherent approach to space development is welcome.
Whether that will happen, however, depends on the specific changes in the organizations and systems that are to be worked out according to the law.
There is no doubt that space technology is increasingly important for society. Many products and services indispensable to daily life are based on space technology, including weather forecasts and satellite car navigation systems.
Meanwhile, space exploration is changing dramatically, with countries like India, China and South Korea emerging as serious players.
Japan's stature in the space community has declined over the past decade or so due to a series of failed rocket launches and troubles with satellites.
We hope Japan will be able to upgrade its space technology in coming years so that it can improve the quality of people's lives and also contribute internationally.
One of the primary goals of America's NASA, the model for government space agencies, is space science research. Japan should try to acquire world leadership in certain areas of space science through projects like missions involving the Hayabusa asteroid explorer.
Given its fiscal constraints, however, Japan should not spread its resources thin by expanding its space program too widely.
The business community was the champion of the new space legislation. Promoting the space industry is indeed important.
But the government should not cater to the interests of the business community with wasteful spending like huge expenditures on roads and dams of dubious utility. The government must define the scope of its efforts to promote development of Japan's space technology through a cautious, rational assessment of cost effectiveness.
The GX midsize rocket project, which has avid supporters within the Liberal Democratic Party, has been criticized for serious delays in technology development and swelling budget overruns. What to do with this project may prove to be the first big test for the new space development regime prescribed by the law.
More worrisome is the possibility that the envisioned expansion of military applications of space technology could undermine the transparency of the space program.
The government has refused to disclose any crucial information on how the current information-gathering satellite is being used even though it is described as a multi-purpose satellite. It has failed to fulfill its responsibility to provide taxpayers with vital information about this satellite.
To improve its space program, the government needs to eliminate waste, develop realistic plans that are not overly ambitious and review them if necessary, disclosing as much related information as possible.
A disciplined stance is crucial for space development because this is an area that involves huge amounts of taxpayer money.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 23(IHT/Asahi: May 24,2008)
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