In
a recent visit to Japan, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo
discussed, among other topics, space exploration and cooperation between the
two nations on the final frontier. Japan already has a major presence on the
International Space Station (ISS), and a U.S. State Department fact sheet states
that Japanese astronauts will “strive to join American astronauts on the moon and
destinations beyond” (Foust). The article says that the extent to which the
talk will affect other U.S.-Japan space relations is unknown. However, NASA, the
Japanese space agency (JAXA), and Japanese companies are looking forward to the
prospect of more collaboration. According to the piece, JAXA is interested in
all of NASA’s moon-related exploration, including the development of Gateway. Gateway
is a planned lunar-orbiting outpost that will facilitate deep-space travel,
including manned missions to Mars. While the project is led by the U.S., the ISS
partner countries, including Japan are involved in its development as well. While
NASA is also excited about the increasing cooperation, the U.S. space agency
has pushed its plan to return humans to the moon forward to 2024 from the
original 2028 date. Because of the faster schedule, it could be more difficult for
NASA to include other countries’ contributions. In the article, Ken Bowersox, the
deputy associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA said
“We’re still looking at working with our international partners. A lot of their
elements were going to come after 2024 anyway...[but if they are ready in time,]
they’re welcome to participate in the early phases” (Foust). Finally, independent
Japanese space companies, somewhat analogous to SpaceX in the U.S., are happy
about the talk because their products will have the chance to be used. As the
leading country in space exploration, the U.S. is a valuable ally and partner that
will help private Japanese companies flourish.
As
the vague language from the State Department memo reveals, many details of the Trump-Abe
agreement remain hidden. Despite this, the talk is important because it symbolizes
enduring positive relations between the two countries. The space discussion fits
into a larger narrative about Japan-U.S. relations. The space talk occurred in Trump’s
recent visit to Japan in which the two leaders played golf and watched sumo
together. As important as the content of the talks, the leisurely activities that
provided the backdrop for political discussion signal the friendship between
the two leaders and their countries. During the meetings, Trump and Abe also
discussed trade deals and North Korea. However, according to peripheral readings,
Trump delayed serious in-depth trade talks with Japan past the upcoming G20
summit and Japanese parliamentary elections occurring a month later. Before the
talks, Yasushi Watanabe, a Keio University professor of American Studies stated
that instead of discussing trade issues, “reconfirming their mutual ‘understanding’
of key diplomatic issues and ‘showing off an unshakable Japan-U.S. alliance’
will probably be the top priority for the two” (Yoshida). In actuality, Trump split
from Abe regarding North Korea, claiming that he personally wasn’t bothered by
the recent North Korean missile tests. (I think it’s honestly pretty funny how
he worded this, considering that the U.S. is quite a bit further away from
North Korea than Japan.) Trump also stated that he personally did not think the
tests violated United Nations rules, a sentiment with which the Japanese
government (as well as Trump’s own national security advisor, John Bolton)
disagree completely with. Overall, the promise of further collaboration in
space is a heartening sign for Japan-U.S. relations. However, when framed in
the larger context of the talk, one can’t help but wonder if it is but a small triumph
overshadowed by other points of conflict between the two countries.
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