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July 02, 2026
 

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SPACE

The government plans to invest ¥150 billion in Rakuten Mobile in a push to develop a homegrown satellite communication system and reduce reliance on firms such as Starlink.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2026
Japan to invest ¥150 billion in Rakuten’s domestic satellite project
The investment is part of a push to develop a homegrown satellite network and to reduce Starlink’s dominance in the field.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said a bill enacted by parliament on Friday will allow his ministry to respond to the most severe and complex security environment of the postwar period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Japan enacts bill to add space operations into ASDF’s fold
The renaming of the ASDF by the end of fiscal 2026, will mark the first name change for any branch of the Self-Defense Forces since its establishment in 1954.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son dismissed the idea of space-based data centers, arguing that the AI race will be won by computing power on Earth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2026
Masayoshi Son dismisses Musk’s idea for orbital data centers
The main advantage of building data centers in space would be to slash electricity costs, but such expenses comprise a small fraction of total costs.
The government aims to double the share of female engineering students from 18% in 2025 to 36% by 2040 to address a shortage of women in science and technology fields.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
Japan aims to double proportion of female engineering students by 2040
In 2025, the share of female university students in engineering faculties stood at 18%. The government hopes to boost the figure to 36% in 2040.
A live feed shows SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on the day of SpaceX's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York City on June 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2026
SpaceX readies its $20 billion bond debut to fund AI ambition
Much of what the company offers investors now is hope about future profitability, but for bond buyers, that may be a harder sale.
Executives and employees of SpaceX and others dressed as astronauts cheer the closing bell at the Nasdaq stock exchange in midtown Manhattan on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2026
SpaceX overtakes Amazon in value as post-IPO rally reaches 49%
Its market capitalization is roughly $8 billion higher than Amazon’s at the close of trading on Tuesday, making it the fifth-largest stock in the world.
Elon Musk at the manufacturing plant for SpaceX in El Segundo, California, on Jan. 9, 2005.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 15, 2026
SpaceX’s unlikely journey from far-out idea to $2 trillion juggernaut
SpaceX’s success has never been a sure thing, and the company has alternated between eye-catching failures and resounding successes.
SpaceX signage at the Nasdaq MarketSite after the SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) in New York on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 13, 2026
SpaceX surges past $2 trillion in Nasdaq debut, closes in on Amazon
The launch was smoother ​than many observers expected, with trading kicking off late on Friday morning without any hiccups.
A SpaceX building ahead of the SpaceX initial public offering (IPO), in Starbase, Texas, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jun 13, 2026
SpaceX playbook set to fuel China’s IPO ambitions but tech gap persists
In China, the initial public offering was watched as a benchmark for a younger industry eager to go public.
H3 Launch Vehicle No. 6 lifts off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 12, 2026
Japan successfully launches H3 rocket
The successful launch is an important comeback for Japan as it seeks to restore confidence in the H3 series and demonstrate the rocket can support a wider range of missions.
Investors across Asia are seeking out creative ways to make bets on SpaceX as its initial public offering launches Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 12, 2026
Locked out of IPO, Asia investors find new ways to bet on SpaceX
Japan and Australia are the only countries in Asia-Pacific where retail investors have direct access to the world’s largest-ever IPO.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the United States, on June 8.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2026
Japan’s retail investor army flocks to SpaceX after IPO drought
SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO is drawing intense retail demand in Japan, where cash-rich households see a rare shot at a marquee global listing tied to Elon Musk and the space boom.
An illustration showing the Hayabusa2 spacecraft conducting a flyby observation of asteroid Torifune
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2026
Japan’s Hayabusa2 to observe asteroid Torifune during July flyby
JAXA also aims to test technology that could help alter the trajectory of an asteroid on a potential collision course with Earth.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell at a keynote conference at the 2026 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on March 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2026
How SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has achieved Musk’s lofty ambitions
The company’s president has spent 24 years focused on building and selling SpaceX through her engineering expertise and dealmaking ​instincts.
Prada's Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment spacesuit is displayed during a media event in New York on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 8, 2026
NASA to wear Prada as luxury group pushes into space industry
The Italian fashion house’s Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment was created in collaboration with Houston-based space ​infrastructure developer Axiom Space.
Axiom Space's latest funding round includes support from new backer MUFG Bank, Japan’s largest bank, along with existing investors, the startup has said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2026
Axiom Space boosts funding to $525 million with MUFG Bank as new investor
The startup is among several firms competing to build a commercial replacement to the International Space Station, which is set to be decommissioned by 2030.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 4, 2026
France opens Space Command to Japanese officer as ties deepen under new road map
The move, announced by France’s defense chief, is one of the clearest signs yet that the security relationship is evolving from political alignment into practical integration.
Japan’s push into space-based solar power could reshape the future of global energy and position the country ahead of the U.S. and China in the next phase of the space race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 31, 2026
A space race the Land of the Rising Sun is winning
Japan takes the lead in space-based solar power exploration.
Damage at the site of a launchpad after an uncrewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 30, 2026
Space rally gets reality check with Blue Origin blowup
The Jeff Bezos-backed firm’s New Glenn rocket blew up Thursday evening while undergoing a test on a Florida launchpad.
Andreas Bovenschulte, the mayor of the German city of Bremen, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 28, 2026
German mayor seeks to boost ties with Japan in space sector development
Andreas Bovenschulte, the mayor of Bremen, said Japan and Germany should cooperate more in the space sector to counter the dominance of SpaceX.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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