TOKYO, 12 July 2025 — In a bold challenge to American technological supremacy in orbit, Japan and the European Union are preparing to unveil a joint plan to launch a shared constellation of communications satellites. This strategic move is aimed squarely at significantly reducing their dependence on U.S. commercial space companies, particularly Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and establishing greater orbital autonomy for both blocs.
According to a draft summit agreement seen by The Politico EU, leaders from both sides are expected to sign the comprehensive deal on July 23 during the Japan-EU summit in Tokyo. The initiative will involve the coordinated launch and operation of a network of small, interconnected satellites — a foundational step in building a self-reliant, high-speed, and secure communications infrastructure spanning two continents. This robust system is designed to provide essential services for both military and civilian applications, including real-time communication, disaster tracking, and a range of digital services.
A Constellation to Challenge Musk’s Orbital Empire
The planned system will function as a sophisticated satellite constellation, a network of numerous small satellites working in unison to provide continuous coverage and high-precision data collection, capabilities difficult for single large satellites to achieve. This approach enables near-real-time interactions crucial for modern digital transformation.
While SpaceX’s Starlink currently dominates the low Earth orbit (LEO) market, having deployed over 7,800 operational satellites as of late June 2025 and planning to expand its constellation to up to 42,000 spacecraft, as tracked by astronomer Jonathan McDowell and reported by Space.com, the EU and Japan are seeking to claw back crucial orbital sovereignty. The EU aims to deploy its IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) program, a multi-orbit constellation comprising 264 satellites in LEO and 18 in medium Earth orbit (MEO) by 2030, with initial governmental services expected by that year. This ambitious €10.6 billion project is a collaborative effort between the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the SpaceRISE industrial consortium, as detailed on the ESA’s official IRIS² page and Polytechnique-Insights’ IRIS² overview.
Japan, under its Space Strategy Fund, plans to establish more than five commercial satellite systems through domestic private companies by the early 2030s, with a goal to double its domestic space market to JPY 8 trillion (approximately $60 billion USD) by that time, according to an overview of Japan’s Space Strategy Fund (SSF) by JAXA. While the numerical gap remains staggering, this strategic collaboration at the upcoming summit—bringing together European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba—marks a new era of strategic space cooperation, crucial for both regions.
Escaping Washington’s Shadow: The Quest for Strategic Autonomy
This deepening collaboration is not merely about catching up in satellite numbers; it is fundamentally about escaping the potential geopolitical chokehold of U.S.-based space dominance. While both Japan and the EU remain steadfast allies of the United States, the behavior of powerful private American companies—and the increasingly unilateral tone of U.S. foreign policy—has raised significant concerns regarding reliability and control. Notably, Elon Musk’s widely publicized threat to cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink last year, which involved his refusal to extend connectivity for a Ukrainian drone attack near Crimea, prompted a profound reevaluation of the risks of overreliance on commercial U.S. space infrastructure, as extensively covered by Irregular Warfare Initiative and Wikipedia’s “Starlink in the Russian-Ukrainian War”.
“This is about strategic autonomy—not just in defense, but in orbit,” an EU official stated, emphasizing the imperative for sovereign control over critical digital infrastructure. Japan and the EU plan to include robust public-private partnership frameworks, standardization rules, and comprehensive data sharing protocols within their joint constellation. These protocols will be particularly vital around sensitive areas like climate monitoring, natural disaster response, and general Earth observation, ensuring secure and independent access to critical information.
Building an Orbital Industry Bloc and Broader Economic Alignment
The draft agreement outlines much more than just satellite cooperation. It proposes a dedicated Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance aimed at significantly boosting cooperation across the space, defense, environmental, and digital industries. This initiative reflects a concerted effort to create a formidable industrial bloc capable of competing on a global scale.
Key components of this proposed alliance include:
- A formal defense industry dialogue aimed at strengthening and diversifying supply chains, reducing single-point dependencies, and fostering resilience.
- New opportunities for Japanese startups to collaborate seamlessly with European firms, promoting innovation and technology transfer.
- Potential joint development of future satellite and advanced defense equipment, leveraging the respective strengths of both partners.
- Collaborative discussions and initiatives focused on tackling space debris, an urgent and growing global concern that threatens all orbital assets.
This agreement comes on the heels of the landmark 2024 Japan-EU Security and Defence Partnership, a document that solidified a closer strategic alignment between Tokyo and Brussels, identifying areas for enhanced cooperation in cyber, disinformation, space, and maritime security. This partnership was further operationalized by the 1st Japan-EU Security and Defence Dialogue held in Brussels in June 2025, as reported by the Japan Ministry of Defense. The current space initiative also builds upon their foundational 2018 Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force in 2019 and remains the EU’s largest bilateral free trade agreement. This comprehensive framework continues to deepen trade and economic security cooperation, as reaffirmed at the 6th High-Level Economic Dialogue in May 2025.
A Bigger Trade Vision and Geostrategic Alignment
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also expected to raise the possibility of advancing towards a Japan-EU free trade zone under a new rules-based trade framework, potentially involving a deeper linkage with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Such a move would further cement the bloc as a significant geoeconomic counterweight to both the U.S. and China, establishing a powerful trade and economic sphere based on shared values. For more on the strategic economic decisions shaping global trade, visit our EU Economy section.
Notably, the draft agreement also includes explicit language addressing China’s regional posture, reaffirming a joint opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas. This underscores a shared concern over maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, a topic frequently covered in our Global Conflicts section.
“This is not just about satellites—it’s about a new era of geostrategic alignment,” commented a senior Japanese official involved in the summit planning, emphasizing the initiative’s broader implications. With Elon Musk’s SpaceX asserting unprecedented dominance in commercial space and the U.S. pursuing nationalist industrial policies under President Donald Trump (a trend that has sparked concerns over issues like Trump’s tariffs and their impact on European tourism), Tokyo and Brussels appear ready to chart their own path—500 kilometers above Earth. This move marks a significant step towards greater European strategic autonomy, a theme recurrent in discussions about the future of European Defense and geopolitical influence.