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JAXA Vision: the overall roadmap
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The JAXA Vision is not to be realized 20 years from now, but within the next 20 years. So not everything is expected to happen in the year of 2025. If there are things that we can do without waiting for 20 years, we won't hesitate. For instance, we'd like to see space utilization, especially for disaster management, surge forward as quickly as possible, at least within 10 years. However, we'll attempt to cover not only Japan, but also eventually the entire region of Asia, and as such, we're estimating that it'll take approximately 20 years until we complete the system.
The traditional procedure for deciding on Japan's space policy is that the Space Activities Commission (SAC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT), first articulates a 10-year plan for the government's guidance. JAXA then refines it to an interim five-year plan, and initiates the plan, after budgeting for each fiscal year.
As the only space agency in Japan, JAXA monitors the progress of other foreign space agencies, such as NASA and ESA. This awareness of what is happening globally helps to determine Japan's research, development and implementation goals. We're revising the current five-year plan (2003 to 2007) according to the Vision. SAC will release the next 10-year plan in 2008, and I'm hoping JAXA Vision 2025 will help determine Japan's national space policy.
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