The world’s space industry has a huge market that was worth $304.3 billion in 2012. For many years, Western countries have worked to “industrialize” the field of space exploration, and using its low costs as a weapon, China is catching up. On the other hand, Japan’s space industry has generated sales of just 260 billion yen and exports of only 17 billion yen. This is because Japan’s space policy has hitherto focused on research. Government policy on space needs to adopt an attitude of making space a competitive industry.

2013 was a year in which worldwide interest in Japanese culture grew as UNESCO designated Mount Fuji as a World Heritage site and added washoku (Japanese cuisine) to its World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. When considering a nation’s “national power,” soft power, which includes things like cultural influence, is incredibly important. Boosting a nation’s cultural influence not only enriches the lives of individuals, but also benefits the country politically. We want the appeal of Japan’s traditional culture to be broadened and Japan to be turned into a cultural superpower.

It is widely known that all the innovations that have emerged in the U.S., such as the Internet and GPS, have come out of government projects, particularly long-term, strategic, high-risk/high-return military projects. If Japan, an island country that lacks resources, is to remain one of the world’s top nations, the national government will need to have a solid strategy for establishing the country as a science and technology powerhouse and serve as the driving force for innovation.