Assessing Continuities and Changes in Japan’s Space Security Blueprint 2023

Japan announced its new space security blueprint in June 2023. The new blueprint lays down a ten-year roadmap for the country to enhance the utilization of space for its military. While the announcement has been widely perceived as a ‘first’, it is in fact a crystallization of Japan’s space security strategies over the last few decades. This article interprets the blueprint in light of Japan’s counterstrike doctrine. It traces Japan’s rise as a military space power since the 1970s and analyses its evolving approach to space security. Continuities and changes in the 2023 blueprint are assessed against Japan’s historic policies.