Japan’s space agency faces cash crisis

Japan's space industry could collapse if the government continues to cut its space budget, the head of the country's space agency said Wednesday.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, published an ambitious long-term vision earlier this month, including plans to open a manned space station on the moon around 2025, but looks set to face a fight for funding.

"At present rates of decline in funding, the space program will collapse," JAXA President Keichi Tachikawa told a news conference in Tokyo.

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JAXA's budget has been falling since 1999 to a current figure of $1.69 billion, and Japan's overall space budget has been declining since 2001.

Space industry sales have also fallen by nearly 38 percent in the past four years, and employment in the space industry was down by a third between 1997 and 2003, according to JAXA figures.

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"Japan is the second-largest economy in the world," Tachikawa said. "Personally I doubt if it is acceptable for us to make no contribution to a field of international importance like space development."

Needled by China's success in launching a piloted spaceflight 18 months ago and reassured by the success of its latest satellite launch in February, JAXA has been trying to boost its profile, and Tachikawa said he was hopeful of success.

"Japan's policymakers do understand the situation, and I believe strongly that they realize the significance of having a space program and will not allow it to collapse," he said.