At 10:00 a.m. on November 15, 2004, I was officially appointed as the President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. The minister instructed me to further enhance Japanese space development, and I responded by pledging to do my very best toward sincerely and faithfully achieving this goal.

I have previously been involved in Japanese space development to a certain extent as I was assigned as a member of the Space Activities Commission (SAC), but I now feel more substantial responsibility as head of the "actual operation unit" rather than a person in charge of its oversight.

After intensive research and investigations, many recommendations were presented by the SAC team following the latest launch failure of H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.6. I was once on this team that made these evaluations, but now as a member of JAXA, I will strive to comprehend these conclusions more precisely.

Our current challenge is to clarify the cause of the accident as soon as possible, take necessary countermeasures, and implement a corrective course. JAXA is still a young organization, but space development in Japan has a relatively long history and has been a frontrunner for pursuing the dreams of mankind. In following this spirit, as president of JAXA, I would like to steadily promote the five-year mid-term plan that has already been implemented.

My prior expertise lies in the field of satellite communications, which is not exactly engaged in space development. However, I recall that when I was a young engineer working on satellite communication development experiments some 40 years ago, I visited the United States to conduct a satellite communication experiment between Japan and the US. At that time, there were no "satellites" in Japan, hence, I had no choice but to go to the United States to borrow a NASA satellite to conduct an experiment with the help of NASA researchers.

Conquering the space frontier is a dream of all mankind. Several decades ago, people had visions of flying through the air, or into space. In a relatively short period, many of these dreams have become reality. We are now at a stage where we can convert these achievements into more practical usages.

In particular, I feel that Japan's space program can contribute more to the safety and security of the Japanese people. I hope that JAXA will actively bear responsibility to follow this lofty goal and space development leads to greater safety and security for all mankind, from our daily lives to emergency situations.

Thank you, and your support would be very much appreciated.