TOKYO — Japan has dramatically increased its defense budget since updating its three strategic documents in 2022, and space is one of its most rapidly growing investments. As a partner nation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan’s space capabilities could play a valuable role in the alliance’s relatively new domain, a NATO official said Oct. 18.

Giorgi Cioni, director of the Armament and Aerospace Capabilities Directorate, Defence Investment Division at NATO Headquarters, said Japan and the alliance are already engaging on matters of space security through “high level consultations and engagements,” he said.

These interactions have allowed the alliance to identify areas of potential cooperation, ranging from the sharing of space data to the development of joint capabilities, he said. “Japan's active participation in these efforts demonstrates the strength of our partnership and our shared commitments to maintain security and stability in space.”

The space domain is experiencing an “unprecedented transformation” that is affecting “not just government operations, but also the entire ecosystem of space activities, from commercial ventures to defense planning,” he said during the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition. “And this is why now more than ever, cooperation between NATO, Japan and the commercial space sector is critical.”

Japan’s recognition of space’s growing strategic importance has included the enactment of a Basic Plan on Space Policy in 2008 and the recently-enacted Space Security Initiative in 2023. Japan also has space-centric cooperative agreements with the United States, the European Union, India, Australia and South Korea.

Japan established the Space Strategy Fund in March, which was created to provide “strong multi-fiscal year support to private companies in developing technologies in the space area” and has been allocated the equivalent of more than $6 billion over the next 10 years to develop the country’s space industry.

As Japan invests record resources in the space domain, NATO’s approach to space has not only “evolved significantly,” but is relatively new.

NATO officially recognized space as the fifth operational domain in 2019 alongside land, sea, air and cyber — a decision Cioni said reflected a growing understanding that space is “indispensable to the alliance, deterrence and defense posture” and “space-based assets enable nearly every aspect of modern military operations” such as intelligence collection, navigation, communication and early warning systems. The NATO Space Centre was established in 2020.

Japan, he noted, has been one of the “long-standing cooperation partners of the alliance” since the early 1990s. “This cooperation, this partnership, has grown steadily over the years, and space has emerged as a priority.”

Japan and NATO share common values, he said — freedom, democracy, human rights, “and we both understand the strategic importance of space in today's complex global security environment” and “space is one of the domains where this partnership is making significant strides.”

Japan’s partnership with NATO is laid out in an individually tailored partnership program, the main tool that the alliance uses to coordinate its cooperation with partners. Japan’s program highlights space as a key area of focus, Cioni said.

“This framework … outlines clear milestones for deepening the cooperation between NATO and Japan, such as, for instance, enhancing space situational awareness, sharing best practices and promoting responsible behavior in space.”

“As both NATO and Japan continue to integrate space into [our] broader defense strategies, it is essential that we build resilient space capabilities that can withstand the challenges posed by an increasingly contested space environment,” he continued.

The Indo-Pacific region, where Japan will play a leading role, is becoming increasingly important for NATO, he said. Developments in the region have “direct implications to global security, including the security of space assets. So there is a unique opportunity for [Japan's] space capability to work out with NATO and the allies in order to enhance our collective defense and ensure that space remains a stable and sustainable domain for all.”

The strategic alignment between NATO and Japan is “clear,” he said, with both having security strategies that recognize the growing importance of space. “NATO and Japan can work toward that commitment and enhance our space situational awareness, improve the resilience of our space assets, and build a foundation for lasting cooperation in the future.”

Cioni said while the partnership holds great opportunities, challenges must also be recognized, saying “one of the most significant challenges” will be the growing complexity of the space environment, “which includes the oftentimes fragmented space structures and responsibilities in the different nations.”

One mechanism that already exists to help accelerate cooperation is called Spacenet, a commercial platform under the NATO Industrial Advisory Group designed to be a “one stop shop” for the commercial space sector, “gathering insights from industry and shaping NATO’s space approach.” Japan is already an industrial partner through the group, he said.

“It is clear that the space domain has become a central pillar of NATO's defense strategy. Japan is an invaluable partner in this effort,” he said.