"Space Policy Documents Research Project" is the shortened name for the project titled "The End of the Cold War and U.S. Space Policy: A Reexamination through Multidisciplinary Approaches." The project began in April 2024 and will end in March 2027. It is funded by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) KAKEN (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Database).
The project aims to reexamine U.S. space policy during the Cold War, immediately before and after the end of the Cold War, and in the post-Cold War period through multidisciplinary approaches that include political and diplomatic history as a core approach, international law, history of science and technology, and legal informatics. It strives to understand "how the end of the Cold War affected U.S. space policy."
By thoroughly collecting, analyzing, and organizing primary sources, including declassified documents from the U.S. government, we will summarize the history and materials of U.S. space policy. In order to present, share, and develop the research results, we will hold an international workshop and extend and upgrade the "Space Policy and Law Documents Database (Linked Open Data, LOD)," which was created and partly published under our previous project regarding Japanese space policy materials, by adding U.S. space policy materials and the relationships among the material. These project activities will contribute to the future formulation of space policy and space law, as well as to their research development, in both Japan and the United States.
By answering the question, "How did the end of the Cold War affect U.S. space policy?," we would like to argue that the two purposes of U.S. space policy, the display of U.S. power and ideas and the promotion of international cooperation (the relaxation of the tensions in the Cold War), remained unchanged even after the end of the Cold War, and the balance between international competition and cooperation in U.S. space policy also remained unchanged. Through the project, we would like to draw some lesson and implication about the new Cold War between the United States and China, or Russia, following the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Specifically, our analysis will be divided into three periods, as shown below, as it is necessary to compare and examine the continuity of space policy between before and after the end of the Cold War.
(1) With "U.S. space policy during the Cold War" as the theme, we will examine the beginning of U.S. space policy, the launch of the first artificial satellite (Sputnik) and the first human spaceflight (Gagarin) by the Soviet Union, and the decision and implementation of Project Apollo to realize the first human moon landing by the United States. Moreover, we will examine the Apollo-Soyuz project to realize the big space cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the decision of the U.S. Space Shuttle program and later the U.S.-led Space Station program to maintain the U.S. initiative in space.
(2) Under the theme, "U.S. space policy before and after the end of the Cold War," we will examine how the United States negotiated with Japan and European countries when the United States, aware of the danger of space technology (such as nuclear missile technology) being leaked and proliferated by Russia, was trying to have Russia join the space station program, later renamed the International Space Station (ISS) program. In addition, we would like to examine how the United States tackled the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War in the field of military space.
(3) Under the theme, "U.S. space policy after the Cold War," we will examine how the United States delt with both China instead of Russia in the field of space and the worsening security environment in East Asia by North Korea while Japan introduced its information-gathering satellites, participated in the U.S. missile defense system and enacted its Basic Space Law of 2008. Besides, we will examine how the United States played a leading role in the ISS program and the Artemis program to realize again human lunar exploration in the field of civil space.
This research group, until now, has collected materials related to Japanese space policy from the U.S. National Archives and various presidential libraries, with a focus on the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS).
Making use of these experiences, we will visit the presidential libraries of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, as well as the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the Space Policy Institute of the George Washington University around Washington, DC. Using the collected Japanese documents as a reference, we will collect newly released U.S. documents and do research on development and operation of database systems in the United States.
In Japan, using the newly collected U.S. documents as a reference, we will continue to collect the materials from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the National Archives of Japan, and also use the National Diet Meeting Minutes Search System.
Since the materials collected in this project are scattered in various academic fields and archives, and written in English (and Japanese), it is necessary to systematically organize and analyze them.
As the first step, we will create a database capable of full-text search, context search (Bilingual KWIC), and Japanese-English bilingual display of the materials. We will review the overall design of the already-created "Space Policy and Law Documents Database" regarding Japanese space policy materials, and add U.S. space policy materials to it. This database allows full-text search using keywords and helps find how to translate and parallel translation of derivative words by checking the words before and after the keyword in a Japanese-English bilingual list using context search and Japanese-English bilingual display functions.
As specific works, we will first scan collected paper-based materials and create both original image files with optical character recognition, OCR, and text files, such as Word files. Next, we will form the text files as new electronic data to enable context search and Japanese-English bilingual display functions.
Since the function of this database is basically keyword search and the search results are words and sentences, the second step is to build an LOD that can visualize the relationship between materials. This will give us a complete picture of all the related materials and increase the possibility of discovering new ones. Specifically, we will extract and organize the various relationships between materials, such as by their content and category, date of creation, creator and holder, location of the digital data (URL), revisions and amendments, nested materials (appendixes and attachments), and Japanese and English translations. Furthermore, we will also link to external databases with the aim of creating an LOD, and make it available on the Internet.
With the Space Policy and Law Documents Database constructed, we will organize and analyze the relevant materials at three levels (words, sentences, and documents) to be able to grasp the whole picture. Furthermore, we will examine the impact of the end of the Cold War on U.S. space policy by searching the database for new materials, and write papers and present them at conferences.
Building on the above, we will also hold an international workshop under the theme of Japan-U.S. space policy history, inviting researchers from the United States and Japan, to examine the results of our research from various angles. For the workshop, we plan to make maximum use of the constructed database.
"Space Policy Documents Research Project" is the shortened name for the project titled "The End of the Cold War and Japanese Space Policy: A Reexamination through Multidisciplinary Approaches." The project began in April 2021 and ended in March 2024. It was funded by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) KAKEN (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Database).
The project aims to reexamine Japanese space policy during the Cold War, immediately before and after the end of the Cold War, and in the post-Cold War period through multidisciplinary approaches that include political and diplomatic history as a core approach, international law, history of science and technology, and legal informatics. It strives to understand "how the end of the Cold War affected Japanese space policy."
By thoroughly collecting, analyzing, and organizing primary sources, including declassified documents from the governments of both Japan and the United States, we will summarize the history and materials of Japanese space policy. In order to present, share, and develop the research results, we will hold an international workshop in addition to creating and publishing a "Space Policy and Law Documents Database (Linked Open Data, LOD)," where the contents and categories of the collected materials and the relationships among these materials will be analyzed and organized. These project activities will contribute to the future formulation of space policy and space law, as well as to their research development.
By answering the question, "How did the end of the Cold War affect Japanese space policy?," we would like to clarify how, after the Cold War, the balance between autonomy and cooperation with the United States for the Japanese space policy began to change. The country's cooperation with or dependence on the United States became stronger not only in the new security field but also in the civilian field. Through the project, we would like to reproduce to whatever extent possible the Japanese space policy decision-making process and Japan-U.S. negotiations on space policy, which have not been sufficiently analyzed yet.
Specifically, our analysis will be divided into three periods, as shown below, as it is necessary to compare and examine the continuity of space policy between before and after the end of the Cold War.
(1) With "Japanese space policy during the Cold War" as the theme, we will examine the process that led Japan to introduce technology from the United States and make an effort to participate in the U.S. Space Shuttle program in the 1970s, even though Japanese space policy started only in the 1960s with the goal of developing its own rockets and satellites. This eventually led to Japan's decision to develop a totally domestic H-II rocket and participate in the U.S. Space Station program in the 1980s. Moreover, we will examine the development of Japanese space policy during this period and also analyze the evolution of Japanese principles for the peaceful use of space, including the National Diet resolution in 1969.
(2) Under the theme, "Japanese space policy before and after the end of the Cold War," we will examine the period immediately after the end of the Cold War, when the United States and Japan signed the agreement on satellite procurement that would have a major impact on the Japanese space industry. The United States, aware of the danger of space technology (such as nuclear missile technology) being leaked and proliferated by Russia, was trying to have Russia join the space station program. We would like to shed light on how Japan negotiated with the United States to reestablish the balance in their autonomy and cooperation with the United States.
(3) Under the theme, "Japanese space policy after the Cold War," we will examine the process of Japanese development of the H-IIA rocket to enter the space launch services market while continuing its participation in the International Space Station (ISS) program. We will also explore how Japan built their own information-gathering satellites and quasi-zenith satellites called Japanese Global Positioning System (GPS), the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance through Japanese participation in the U.S. missile defense, and the passage of the Basic Space Law in 2008.
In Japan, the minutes of the meetings and other materials of the National Space Activities Council (1960-1968) and the Space Activities Commission (1968-2012) were organized and published as outcomes of the "Survey, Analysis, and Policy Research on the Study Process of Japanese Space Development Project" (2013-2015), which was funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). We will continue to collect these materials from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the National Archives of Japan, and also use the National Diet Meeting Minutes Search System.
In the United States, we have collected materials related to Japanese space policy from the National Archives, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters History Office, and various presidential libraries, with a focus on the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) collections. We will use these resources to collect newly released U.S. official documents at the National Archives and presidential libraries.
We will also collect official Russian documents to analyze negotiations with the United States regarding Russia's participation in the ISS program. We have been collecting materials from the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow and the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), and will do the same from the Museum of Cosmonautics and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Since the materials collected in this project are scattered in various academic fields and archives, and written in both Japanese and English, it is necessary to systematically organize and analyze them. Due to the quantity of materials and broad expertise required, such a task cannot be handled by an individual researcher alone. Therefore, as the first step, we will create a database capable of full-text search, context search (Bilingual KWIC), and Japanese-English bilingual display of the materials. This database allows full-text search using keywords and helps find how to translate and parallel translation of derivative words by checking the words before and after the keyword in a Japanese-English bilingual list using context search and Japanese-English bilingual display functions.
Since the function of this database is basically keyword search and the search results are words and sentences, the second step is to build an LOD that can visualize the relationship between materials. This will give us a complete picture of all the related materials and increase the possibility of discovering new ones. Specifically, we will extract and organize the various relationships between materials, such as by their content and category, date of creation, creator and holder, location of the digital data (URL), revisions and amendments, nested materials (appendixes and attachments), and Japanese and English translations. Furthermore, we will also link to external databases with the aim of creating an LOD, and make it available on the Internet.
With the Space Policy and Law Documents Database constructed, we will organize and analyze the relevant materials at three levels (words, sentences, and documents) to be able to grasp the whole picture. Furthermore, we will examine the impact of the end of the Cold War on Japanese space policy by searching the database for new materials, and write papers and present them at conferences.
Building on the above, we will also hold an international workshop (symposium) inviting researchers from Japan, the United States, and Russia, to examine the results of our research from various angles. By bringing together researchers from these countries, it will be possible to relativize each country's perception of international politics and history, as well as their bilateral relations, and conduct a truly three-dimensional verification. For the workshop (symposium), we plan to make maximum use of the constructed database and provide interpretation and translation in three languages. We hope to expand the database not only in Japanese and English, but also in Russian, in the future.