Basic law for space activities: Anew space policy for Japan for the 21st century

On 20 June 2007, a bill was submitted to the Japanese’s LowerHouse of Diet. The name of the bill is “Basic Law for Space Activities”, which is a call to establish a new space policy and decision-making structure. The intention of the bill is to achieve a changeover from the old “catching-up” strategy, which focused heavily on technological development, to a more user-oriented space policy. The outcome of the Upper House elections in July 2007 and the subsequent resignation of the Prime Minister Abe makes it difficult to predict when this bill will pass the Diet, but apart from some minor opposition from the left-wing parties, there is a general consensus among wide spectrum of political activists that Japan needs a new space policy.This article discusses the reasons for creating a new legal framework for Japanese space policy, and how it would change the space activities of Japan.