From putting a Japanese astronaut on the moon to developing the Lunar Gateway space station, the list of space projects Tokyo and Washington are working on is ambitious.
But bilateral cooperation is now set to expand even further, after the two spacefaring nations signed a framework agreement last week that will serve as the basis for their joint human space exploration efforts.
More than 10 years in the making, the pact will take the space partnership “to new heights,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday. Blinken said the agreement will strengthen collaboration in areas such as space technology and transportation; space operations and exploration, including on the moon; as well as aeronautical science and technology.