*********** 070494B.SAT *********** Contributory Categories: ENG, ENV, GEO, PHY, PRG Country: Japan From: JAPANESE REMOTE SENSING ORGANIZATIONS, RESEARCH, AND TECHNOLOGY by Captain Franklin P. Mills, USAFR Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOAORD) June 14, 1994 KEYWORDS: Japan; Remote Sensing, Resource Development, Satellites, +++++ For information and copies of complete text, contact: Dr. S. J. YAKURA AOARD Unit 45002 APO AP 96337 FAX: +81-3-5410-4407 E-Mail: aoard@emh.yokata.mil Part IV/VII Section V. FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR JAPANESE REMOTE SENSING Recent political changes in Japan (i.e., the breakup of the Liberal Democratic Party and the accession of a coalition government to power), increasing demands for a better standard of living for Japanese workers, the recent pause in economic growth, and increasing interest in environmental issues are triggering some debate over the future direction of Japan's space and remote sensing programs. However, neither of these programs is threatened with wholesale changes since both enjoy reasonable levels of support from either the government bureaucracy, major corporations, and/or the public. The current debate is over questions of what direction to head, not over whether the programs should exist. ISAS and NASDA will probably continue to pursue the same endeavors as they have recently pursued. ISAS will continue to pursue an active (but focused and relatively inexpensive) space science research program. ISAS may have increased competition within Monbusho for funds as university researchers seek to limit the growth of ISAS in an effort to obtain increased funding for their own research. NASDA will pursue improvement of satellite and launch-vehicle technology and will attempt to leapfrog into a leadership position in satellite technology by adapting (heretofore untested in space) commercial systems for use on satellites. NASDA and Monbusho seem to have reached some agreement on cooperation between NASDA and university researchers. If this works well on the upcoming ADEOS mission, it should continue in the future and will improve the scientific quality of NASDA's Earth-observing remote sensing projects. As part of NASDA's increased emphasis on scientific research, an increasing number of NASDA programs will include international instrument teams or principal investigators. However, NASDA's primary focus will remain development of Japan's technological base. Foreign participation in NASDA's projects will be tolerated when necessary but is not likely to be actively sought. Politically, NASDA has to reach some accommodation with MITI--MITI's interest in satellite exploration for non-renewable resources (minerals and petroleum) takes away from NASDA part of the primary reason for NASDA's existence--commercial development of space. MITI's entry into space-based remote sensing adds a new dimension to the Japanese government's space program that is virtually non-existent in the US. MITI, like NASDA and ISAS, pushes technology development, but MITI's primary purpose is economic (commercial) and political (trade) development. Remote sensing may fit MITI's political and economic goals nicely. It can be used for resource exploration, land-use planning, and as a (very small) political favor. If optical remote sensing proves to be a useful tool for locating petroleum and mineral resources, then the infrastructure MITI is developing may give Japanese exploration companies a competitive advantage. (I emphasize that optical remote sensing has not, yet, proven itself as a significant aid in locating mineral or petroleum deposits, but it has some potential.) This advantage, combined with (a) MITI's active promotion of trade and development and (b) Japan's increasing importance in East Asian trade, may be sufficient to offset the historical political advantage the US has had in negotiations with East Asian countries. The near-future Earth-observing satellite missions planned by NASDA are listed in Table 2. Additional NASDA missions planned are listed in Table 4. MITI has plans for two future satellite instruments: (1) an advanced version of ASTER and (2) a multi- polarization and/or multi-frequency SAR (JAROS 1993). MITI also has a near-term plan to build a multi-polarization and multi- frequency airborne SAR (JAROS 1993). Conceptual design studies for the airborne SAR have begun and engineering development should begin in the next one to two years. Recently, MITI has also begun looking at a cooperative development project with the US companies which are advertising a one-meter resolution optical satellite sensor. These projects will not give Japan the ability to produce a space station or a MILSTAR satellite, but they will bring Japan up to the technology level where they could embark on such a project. +++++ END Part IV/VII ************** END Msg. B.SAT **************