TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on Thursday with Gen. John Raymond, chief of Space Operations in the US Space Force, and agreed to boost bilateral military cooperation in the realm of space.

Abe said that the importance of the Japan-US alliance is increasing due to uncertainty in the international situation brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“I want to deepen our cooperation, beginning with the field of space, to boost our deterrence and response capabilities,” Abe said in the meeting at the prime minister’s office, seeking more cooperation between the Space Operations Squadron of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the US Space Force.

Raymond said that the situation regarding security in outer space is becoming harsher and added that Japan is the United States’ most important partner in the field of space.

The two also discussed the US-led Artemis manned lunar probe project. They agreed to attach US space situational awareness, or SSA, sensors on Japanese quasi-zenith satellites.

Raymond later met with Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono.

JIJI Press