The new law that reorganizes Japan's space management structure and lifts a longstanding ban on military space activities is a welcome, if long overdue, example of policy catching up with reality, both in principle and in practice. The Basic Law for Space Activities, which was approved in May by the Diet, Japan's parliament, recognizes the intrinsic strategic nature of space activity, particularly for a nation as technologically advanced as Japan. Yes, there is a strong national security angle here, but space also plays an important role in other strategic areas including the economy and public safety, and the law recognizes that by putting space under the direct purview of the prime minister's office.
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