The Japanese government plans to transform its air self-defense force into an“Aerospace self-defense force” within the 2026 fiscal year, the Nikkei reported Monday. This will be the first time since the establishment of land, sea and air self-defense force in 1954, the change in the name of the self-defense force services. Reported that the move aims to incorporate space into the self-defense force’s combat areas, thereby enhancing the“Defense capability.”. Experts believe that this means that Japan will further develop space surveillance and other related capabilities, worthy of vigilance.
Japanese media said the Japanese Parliament is considering a bill aimed at amending the“Self-defense Forces Act” to restructure the self-defense forces. Once the bill is passed, “Space” will be included in the Japan Air self-defense Force’s main mission areas. Previously, Japan’s self-defense forces had formed a unit specifically responsible for space operations, and gradually expanded from the“Space Combat Team” in 2020 to the“Space Combat Group” in 2022, march 2026 to further expand the“Space Battle Group”, the size of the personnel from the initial 20 to 670. It is expected that in fiscal year 2026, the force will be upgraded to the“Space Combat Group”, with a size of about 880 personnel.
Hiroyuki Ishii, commander of Japan’s“Space Battle Group”, said its main mission was to“Protect the space infrastructure that supports daily life”. From a military perspective, an attack on a Japanese or American satellite could interfere with missile defense capabilities and the deployment of fighter jets, Ishii said, “So the unit is responsible for monitoring any suspicious activity.”.
Japanese media said, “Space Battle Group” is currently deployed in Yamaguchi Prefecture using equipment to monitor space debris, suspicious satellite movements. “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” also mentioned that the U. S. “Space Force” in the satellite-related information collection, analysis and evaluation of strong capabilities, Japan can play a complementary role.
Chen Yang, a visiting researcher at the Center for Japanese Studies at Liaoning University, told the Global Times that Japan’s adaptation is not a simple name change, but another dangerous move by the country’s military to break its borders. Japan may further develop space surveillance, anti-satellite operations and other capabilities, and combine them with the japan-us military alliance, which will bring new uncertainties to the security pattern in northeast Asia.