U.S.-Japan Space Forum
The U.S.-Japan Space Forum (USJSF), under the auspices of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, is co-chaired by the Mansfield Foundation President Frank Jannuzi and Saadia M. Pekkanen of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. It is a standing committee of American and Japanese space policy experts and officials, meeting twice yearly to examine critical developments and opportunities for bilateral and multilateral space-related activities. The USJSF runs roughly in parallel to the U.S.-Japan track-1 “Comprehensive Dialogue on Space.” Reflecting the increasingly important role of the private sector in national space capabilities, the Forum integrates the perspectives of a wide array of experts, including corporate, academic, and other non-government players, in an informal environment that is conducive to creative and frank discourse.
Since its inception in 2014, the U.S.-Japan Space Forum has met to discuss bilateral space collaboration against the backdrop of the United States’ changing role in Asia, recent revisions to U.S.-Japan defense guidelines, and Japan’s ongoing national conversation about the role and limits of its defense activities. Over these four meetings the Forum has addressed policy trajectories and technical capabilities in the United States and Japan related to launchers, satellites, and the use of space technologies for civilian, commercial and military applications. Without necessarily presuming uniformity of space policy interests between the U.S. and Japanese governments and private sector entities, Forum members have reflected on the broader context of the bilateral security alliance, the strategic and competitive landscape, and global norms of behavior in space practices.