This morning, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that his country will work to establish a space force, to protect itself from potential threats.
Shinzo Abe said that the new space force will work closely with its US counterpart, launched by President Donald Trump last August, and will cooperate with the Japan Space Exploration Agency.
Abe explained that the unit will protect Japan's interstellar interests, such as satellites and rockets - rather than fighting cinematic-style battles across the galaxy as the name suggests.
The Japanese Prime Minister also said he wanted his country to defend itself from cyber threats, or from electromagnetic interference to its satellites.
Japan's Space Domain Mission Unit will begin work in April, and be added to an existing air base in Fuchu, close to Tokyo.
According to analysts, Abe was referring to the growing concerns over China and Russia to find ways to disable and interfere with satellites, which could seriously disrupt global communications. The role of the space force will be to communicate via satellite with other forces in the field, rather than be on the ground.
Earlier in August, it was reported that the Defense Ministry has decided to make a budget request for a new space monitoring unit to be set up in fiscal 2020 within its air forces.
The unit, which is aimed at tracking space debris that poses a threat to Japanese surveillance satellites, as well as satellites operated by other countries, is expected to initially be staffed by about 70 personnel.
Under its national defense guidelines outlined in December, Japan said it will beef up its defense capabilities in new domains of warfare such as outer space and cyberspace.
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