Photo/Illutration Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on Nov. 14 announces his ministry’s plan to deploy the Self-Defense Forces’ second space squad to the Air SDF’s Hofu Kita base in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. (Naoki Matsuyama)

The Defense Ministry plans to deploy a second Self-Defense Forces space squad to Yamaguchi Prefecture to bolster Japan’s preparations for the new “battleground” of outer space.

The ministry is rushing to compile measures to counter threats, such as jamming, to the nation’s satellites.

During his visit to the Air SDF’s Hofu Kita base in the prefecture on Nov. 14, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi indicated the squad would be sent to the base by the end of next fiscal year, which starts in April.

“It is extremely important to ensure the stable use of outer space,” Kishi said in his address to staff at the Hofu Kita base. “Make steady preparations to increase our presence (in space).”

The second space squad is expected to comprise 20 SDF members. In its budget request for next fiscal year, the ministry included 70 million yen ($614,800) for the costs to establish the team and construct a dedicated building.

The squad will detect sources of jamming communications with Japanese satellites from the ground and identify their characteristics.

The ministry set up the SDF’s first unit specializing in outer space at the ASDF’s Fuchu Base in Tokyo in May 2020. It monitors space debris to prevent collisions with satellites.

The unit will be reorganized into “the first space squad” by the end of March 2023. The ministry will also establish a new unit in charge of maintenance and management of space-related equipment to form a roughly 120-member space operation group, which includes the second space squad.

China and Russia are said to be developing devices to jam communications between satellites and the ground as well as weapons with robotic arms that can capture satellites.

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