From drones to space tech, Japan looks to startups to strengthen its defences
Tokyo is stepping up efforts to harness dual-use technologies – innovations developed for civilian purposes that can also have military applications – as it seeks to bolster national security while opening new markets for Japanese firms at home and abroad.
Japan is stepping up its efforts to harness dual-use technologies, such as drones and nanoparticles, to bolster national security and open new markets for Japanese firms. The country aims to accelerate research and development of these technologies across the private sector by establishing research bases outside educational institutions by 2030.
Companies like Terra Drone, which specializes in drones for civilian purposes, are already expanding into defense applications, seeking to raise funding to counter threats from cheap and commoditised Iranian-designed drones. Japan's defence white paper emphasizes the need to strengthen the country's defense industrial and technological base in the face of growing threats from drones and other emerging technologies.
Startups in Sendai, a city in northeastern Miyagi Prefecture, have become an important engine of economic growth since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and some are exploring ways to apply their technologies to national and economic security. These include NanoFrontier, which is investigating nanoparticles for applications such as detecting toxic chemicals and producing rechargeable batteries without rare metals, and ElevationSpace, which is developing spacecraft for returning materials and data from orbit.
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