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The initial budget of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the fiscal year 2025 amounted to about billion Japanese yen. Meanwhile, the latest supplementary budget for 2024 amounted to roughly ** billion yen.

What are JAXA’s missions?

JAXA is a central actor in Japanese aerospace research and development. The government agency was formed in 2003, merging three aerospace-related institutes. JAXA pursues a wide range of missions, often in international cooperation (NASA, ESA, etc.). It gathers meteorological data, provides satellite images and communications, conducts and coordinates research at and among universities, among many others. The organization is primarily government-funded, spending most of its budget on space projects, such as satellite-related operations, space transportation systems, space science and exploration, and human space activities.

Aerospace research and development in Japan

The Japanese aerospace industry started developing after WWII in the 1950s, with maintenance and repair of U.S. aircraft used in the Korean War. Licensed manufacturing for the United States fostered high-tech expertise, helping the country extend to spacecraft development: in 1970, Japan launched its first artificial satellite. Throughout the years, Japanese space research has borne fruits such as rockets, transfer vehicles, satellites, and a module on the International Space Station (ISS) which was completed in 2009.
The private sector in Japan predominantly builds under license, jointly develops, or manufactures parts in collaboration with companies such as Boeing, Airbus, or Rolls-Royce. Among the leading aerospace engineers are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Subaru, which are at the same time the main defense suppliers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.