Japan's space defense ambitions raise militarization concerns

The Japanese government plans to restructure and rename the Japan Air Self-Defense Force as the Air and Space Self-Defense Force in fiscal year 2026, further expanding the scope of Japan's security activities to include outer space, Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Sunday. 

The move has sparked concerns of military expansion among the Japanese public. 

The relevant legislation is currently under deliberation in the National Diet, the report said. If approved, it would mark the first change to the name of Japan's Self-Defense Forces since the establishment of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces in 1954.

According to the report, the government's intention is to formally designate outer space as one of the operational domains of the Self-Defense Forces. "This is not merely a change of name, but an important milestone in the outward expansion of Japan's security concept," the report noted.

Japan has already established and gradually expanded a specialized unit responsible for space operations over the past few years. The force originated as the former Space Operations Squadron in 2020 with only about 20 personnel and reorganized into the Space Operations Group in 2022. In March 2026, it was further expanded to increase its personnel to 670 and is expected to be upgraded again within the fiscal year 2026 to staff around 880 personnel.

These moves have continued to raise concerns among the Japanese public. In the comment sections under relevant news reports, many Japanese netizens questioned the government's ongoing expansion of "security domains" and increases in defense spending, arguing that such measures would further squeeze funding for public welfare and place a heavier burden on citizens. 

During a recent parliamentary debate, Tomoko Tamura, chair of the Japanese Communist Party, argued that the move would formally assign the Self-Defense Forces a space combat mission, bringing outer space into the realm of military competition and potentially accelerating a space arms race.