TOKYO - Japan and the United States have agreed to further enhance cooperation in the space transportation business by standardizing part of the review procedures when Japanese firms launch rockets from U.S. sites and vice versa, Japan's Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
Japan's National Space Policy Secretariat and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration signed a memorandum of cooperation on Monday, also aimed at streamlining regulations and intensifying information sharing.
"We would like to build a system adaptable to space business, which is widely expanding in a variety of forms," said Takatsugu Ryuzaki, director general of the secretariat in charge of the country's space development and utilization, after the signing.
With several spaceport projects underway in Japan, including in Kochi and Oita prefectures, the two sides will discuss guidelines for space business operators setting out specific requirements for spaceports.
In addition to rocket launches, the two security allies are considering connecting Japanese and U.S. cities via suborbital flights at an altitude of around 100 kilometers.
Last year, a Japanese travel agency said it aims to launch a point-to-point transport service in the 2030s connecting Tokyo and U.S. cities like New York in one hour.
