The European Space Agency (ESA) opened its first Asian office in Tokyo on Tuesday in a move to deepen collaborative efforts with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japan¡¯s rapidly growing private sector.
The office will be located in X-Nihonbashi Tower, an innovation hub in the capital¡¯s Chuo Ward, marking a new chapter in more than half a century of European-Japanese cooperation in space exploration and research.
The office will act as ESA¡¯s regional outpost for industry engagement in both governmental and commercial space sectors ¡ª mirroring its Washington office that handles U.S. relations.
It will also support coordination on joint missions such as the Earth observation satellite EarthCARE and the Mercury-flyby BepiColombo probe, as well as future projects involving cooperation between ESA and JAXA such as the Destiny+ and Ramses¡¯ planetary-defense missions.
Eric Morel de Westgaver, ESA¡¯s director of strategy, announced the move on Tuesday during a keynote speech at Nihonbashi Space Week, calling the ties between Japan and Europe¡¯s space industries ¡°a treasured cooperation, older than ESA itself.¡±
¡°This will allow us to foster closer ties not only with JAXA, but also with Japan¡¯s dynamic and innovative space industry,¡± he added.
X-Nihonbashi Tower, operated by Mitsui Fudosan and Cross U, has become an important networking point for the expanding space business community in Japan, bringing together startups, academia, government agencies ¡ª and now ESA ¡ª to collaborate and launch new ventures.
JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa welcomed the decision, saying it would ¡°enable closer communication¡± and ¡°deepen the relationship between our two agencies.¡±
The European agency said the Tokyo base will also serve as a bridge between European and Japanese space stakeholders as both sides pursue climate monitoring and sustainable space ventures.
¡°Our relationship with Japan is built on decades of trust and scientific excellence,¡± ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a news release alongside the announcement on Tuesday.
¡°Establishing a presence in Japan signals our clear intention to elevate cooperation across all domains of space.¡±
By continuing to work together, Japan and Europe hope to significantly strengthen their presence in the space industry, a field heavily led by the U.S., China and Russia. Political uncertainty and tense global relations with these major space powers in recent years is also seen as being a massive driver for recent Europe-Japan space collaboration.
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