Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced during the Philippine delegation’s visit to Expo 2025 Osaka: “We’re working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), together with our very own Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), to use space technology that helps protect and improve the lives of Filipinos.”
In the meeting with JAXA President Dr. Hiroshi Yamakawa and PhilSA Deputy Director General Dr. Gay Jane Perez, President Marcos said: “With better satellites, we can track typhoons and respond to disasters more quickly, help our farmers plan smarter, and keep our communities safer.”
Dr. Yamakawa highlighted Japan’s enduring partnership with the Philippines, which began in 2006 through JAXA’s collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and further strengthened with the establishment of PhilSA in 2019. In 2021, both agencies signed a memorandum of cooperation to collaborate in satellite development and utilization, research and development, and capacity building.
In the meeting, Dr. Yamakawa expressed support for PhilSA’s priority to maximize the effective use of satellite data in national development.
On-going and future initiatives between JAXA and PhilSA
The Philippines is an active participant and contributor to the Sentinel Asia initiative, which supports disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) activities in the Asia-Pacific region using space technology and online geospatial mapping. Since 2023, PhilSA has a continuing commitment to provide pre–, during–, and post-disaster satellite imagery data from the Diwata-2 and NovaSAR-1 satellites.
The partnership also extends to space education and outreach, PhilSA leads the Philippines’ participation in JAXA’s Kibo Asian Beneficial Collaboration (Kibo-ABC), which provides Filipino researchers and students with opportunities to develop experiments to be conducted aboard the Japanese “Kibo” module on the International Space Station (ISS). This includes regular involvement in the Asian Try Zero-G where several Philippine experiments have been performed by JAXA astronauts in the ISS since 2022; Asian Herb in Space (AHIS); and the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo_RPC).
Looking forward, both countries aim to strengthen the involvement of the private sector through enabling regulations and investment incentives. This includes fostering business-to-business engagement to diversify the satellite manufacturing supply chain and support the growth of the domestic space industry.
Philippines to host key space events with Japan
In November, the Philippines will host the 31st Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-31) in Cebu, the largest space forum in the region, co-organized by PhilSA and JAXA. The forum will highlight PhilSA’s growing portfolio of programs and showcase its successful cooperation with Japan, reinforcing its leadership role in the regional space community.
PhilSA will also host the Japan–Philippines Space Economy Co-Creation Event to be held in Manila ahead of APRSAF-31. The initiative will bring together space agencies, startups, investors, and researchers from both countries and lay the groundwork for cooperation in satellite applications, manufacturing, and emerging space technologies.
“PhilSA is expanding our cooperation with JAXA by encouraging Japanese space companies to partner with Philippine space companies for space data utilization and diversifying satellite manufacturing chain,” Dr. Perez stated. “These business-to-business opportunities will contribute to building our own local or domestic space industry and partaking in the growing space economy,” she added.