Japan


Japanese Government Space Spending, 2013-2023

Japan’s space spending spans seven ministries and totaled ¥612 billion (UD$4.3 billion) in 2023. This budget has grown 68% since 2020 as the nation expands its civil and military space programs. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) — which houses JAXA — typically receives the majority of space-related funding.

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Launch Attempts by Country and Category, 2023

The United States launched 11 military missions in the year, including payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office and a new generation of small communications satellites for the Space Development Agency. Russia launched 10 civil government missions in 2023, including Soyuz launches to send crews to the International Space Station, which remains one area of cooperation between the Kremlin and NASA. India made headlines with its successful launch of a lunar probe while the European Space Agency, awaiting its new Ariane-6 launch vehicle, launched three spacecraft including its Euclid space observatory.

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Launch Attempts by Select Nations, 2022-2023

The record number of launches came despite delays that pushed the debuts of several long-anticipated launch vehicles into 2024. It was the third consecutive year to shatter launch records, despite a decline in European and Russian launches.

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Japanese Launch Attempts, 2013-2023

One problem area for Japan is the possibility of a gap in reliable access to space. The nation is one of 10 capable of orbital launch, but its launch activity is relativity infrequent.

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Japanese Workforce by Sector, 2005-2021

Japanese Workforce by Sector, 2005-2021Japanese Workforce by Sector, 2005-2021

JAXA employed 1,580 individuals at the beginning of 2023. Out of this total, 1,123 (71%) are engineering and research employees. Even though Japan as a whole is struggling with an aging population, JAXA’s age demographics are more normally distributed than many other nation’s space agencies.

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Nation in Review: Japan

JAXA and NASA’s X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) was launched from Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 6, 2023. This mission, which is capable of measuring the chemical composition of black holes, galaxy clusters and more, is one of Japan’s latest international collaborations. Credit: NASAJAXA and NASA’s X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) was launched from Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 6, 2023. This mission, which is capable of measuring the chemical composition of black holes, galaxy clusters and more, is one of Japan’s latest international collaborations. Credit: NASA

As the space economy continues to grow, Japan is capitalizing on new opportunities in the public and private sectors. Government budget increases, private industry investment, and international cooperation are contributing to the nation’s plans to double its space market in the coming decade.

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Astronaut and Mission Count for Top Nations

Public astronauts typically complete multiple missions in space over their careers — 65% have two or more flights compared to only 9% of private space travelers. Retired NASA astronaut Frederick “CJ” Sturckow remains the only person to have visited space eight times.

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