The Evolution of Japanese Space Policy: Autonomy and International Cooperation

Japan has carried out its space activities under the slogan of autonomy and international cooperation. However, they often contradicted each other during the period when Japan was on its way to achieving the status of a major economic power after World War II. This paper examines the evolution of Japanese space policy to date, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s, from the perspective of Japanese diplomatic history, by taking up the critical decisions between autonomy and international cooperation in Japanese space policy choices: space technology transfer from the United States, indirect participation in the U.S. Space Shuttle program, development of a totally domestic launch vehicle, the H-II, and direct participation in the U.S. Space Station program. The evolution of Japanese space policy was marked by the shifting balance between autonomy and international cooperation. Not until the mid-1980s could Japan manage both autonomy and international cooperation. The decisions that brought about the changes of Japanese space policy were basically bottom-up and consensus-building, but sometimes "political."