Exploring the China factor in Japan’s foreign and security policy in outer space

In the new millennium, Japan's strategy for outer space has strengthened with growing concerns about North Korea's launching of ballistic missiles and China's enhanced space capabilities. The main aim of this research is to examine Japan's foreign and security policy in outer space and explore strategic implications in relation to China. The article argues that outer space has assumed an increasingly important position in the Japan-US alliance as Japan is playing an auxiliary role in enhancing the guarantee of the US mission assurance against China's space capabilities. It also contends that Japan has engaged in regional community-building through a multilateral space forum with open and horizontal character, which challenges China's aspiration to lead regional cooperation in outer space. Furthermore, this article offers the prospect of the extension of the quadrilateral security dialogue to the space field and the deepening of community-building through more commitments to human resources development.