Summer Reading: In Defense of Japan

Last year, a must read book surfaced for those of us who track the complex world of the Japanese space sector. "In Defense of Japan: From the Market to the Military in Space Policy," by Saadia Pekkanen and Paul Kallendar-Umezu (published by Stanford University Press, ISBN 080470063X) may not be the definitive work on this subject, but this writer is hard pressed indeed to identify any recent book in English that comes close to covering as much ground as this one does. The bottom line is that anyone who looks closely at what Japan is doing in space might want to look again - this time from the perspective of China and Korea. Where Japan appears to pursue peaceful space experiments, for example, the seeds for prototype space bombers akin to those under development for the U.S. "Prompt Global Strike" program may be lurking. Sure, skeptics might counter, the realm of space is awash in dual-purpose platforms, and anyone can extract a military purpose or profile from what is probably a conventional scientific and research mission. This book takes such skepticism in stride and leaves it up to the readers to decide if the defense-oriented pattern that permeates the Japanese space sector is merely a coincidence or a Ministry of Defense endorsed campaign. This book challenges the reader by addressing the subject as it pertains both to the broader subject of Japanese remilitarization - enabled by political and cultural shifts - as well as the possible emergence of a nuclear-weaponized Japan. The book requires a basic understanding of the Japanese institutional, historical, and legal forces at work. And because so much emphasis is placed on the role of a few elite Japanese corporations as the key catalysts in the evolving process, it also helps to understand their role as defense contractors in areas other than space. Add it all up, and you are presented with rather compelling evidence. Whether or not you accept the premise that Japan is a military space power today, this book reminds you constantly that regardless of which party is in power - DPJ or LDP - Japan's militarization of space assets is likely to remain on auto-pilot for decades to come. The book does offer an abundance of charts which are extremely valuable unto themselves. More than 80 pages of notes provide the reader with ample documentation. At the same time, the reader is left to wonder where exactly in the Ministry of Defense are the points of intersection when it comes to the layering of the subgroups which are assigned to these various space projects by the big corporations - both U.S. and Japanese - that receive so much attention in this 377-page volume. Also, the authors state that, "the push toward smaller satellites remains a work in progress" before proceeding to discuss all the small satellite projects now underway in Japanese universities, for example. Years ago, in one of my earliest articles on the Japanese space program, "A Sleeper in the Space Race" (Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute, July 1987), the launch of Japan's small Marine Observation Satellite -1 (MOS-1) was mentioned as an example of Japanese space engineering prowess. So, what is a work in progress apparently spans decades. Of course, I also predicted in 1987 that the steady progress of the Japanese launch sector would certainly deprive the Soviets of opportunities to launch payloads from the West. I was certainly proven wrong over time. And yet, the authors rightfully assert that the inability of the Japanese to capitalize on the commercial launch and payload business contributed enormously to the steady shift by Japanese space sector companies to a shared defense-oriented business plan. The recent sale of Japanese-built satellites to Turksat remain the exception and not the rule. Hopefully, Japan can sell some more satellites soon. So, there is plenty of time left this summer for you to add this book to your must read list. And for those who need a little Japanese space trivia to spur you along, here it is. Who was the first Japanese to fly in space? Toyohiro Akiyama, a reporter for TBS who went up on the Russian Soyuz in 1990. Here we are more than 20 years later, and soon everyone going up will have to carry a ticket issued by the Russians.