By Yasuhiro Kobayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Major Japanese satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. plans to expand its space business, positioning it as the company's primary growth engine, President and CEO Eiichi Yonekura said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
"We want to become a space infrastructure company (and) provide satellite-based communication services that match the quality found on Earth," he said.
Yonekura also expressed interest in engaging with data centers in space in the future. "Communication services linking space data centers, satellites and Earth will become a reality within the next 10 years or so," he said.
The following is excerpted from the interview.
Expanding into low Earth orbit
The Yomiuri Shimbun: SKY Perfect JSAT is the largest satellite operator in Asia and operates 17 geostationary satellites. Which areas are you planning to focus on moving forward?
Eiichi Yonekura: We have been providing satellite communication and broadcasting services based on our geostationary satellites for a long time. However, it is becoming difficult to achieve growth relying solely on geostationary satellites. Going forward, we will make a full-fledged entry into the low-Earth-orbit $(LEO)$ satellite market. We plan to launch 10 Earth observation satellites by spring of 2028.
The satellites we will launch are called Pelicans, and they are manufactured by U.S.-based Planet Labs PBC. We will invest about 40 billion yen in the project. By owning our own LEO satellites, we will be able to capture images of the Earth's surface 24 hours a day, at any time we choose.
We plan to sell the captured image data to such customers as national and local governments so that they can use it for security and anti-disaster operations. The satellites will conduct fixed-point observations of ports, highways, dams and other locations, data that I believe can be applied to various services.
We are also considering selling image data in Southeast Asia. The region is seeing increased awareness of geopolitical risks, such as those surrounding the Spratly Islands (where China claims sovereignty).
Having 10 LEO satellites is just one step toward our future. The number could expand severalfold within 10 years as we expand our Earth observation services.
Yomiuri: SKY Perfect JSAT plans to invest about 150 billion yen in the two fiscal years through March 2028, centered on its space business. Could you elaborate?
Yonekura: In February this year, we signed a contract with the Defense Ministry -- together with such companies as Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Mitsui & Co. -- to provide satellite imagery of the Earth's surface.
We are also in talks with Amazon.com Inc. to offer the U.S. company's Amazon Leo satellite communication service in Japan. We are considering providing the service to such customers as central and local government agencies.
Beaming baseball to the moon
Yomiuri: SKY Perfect JSAT posted a net profit of 23.3 billion yen in fiscal 2025, which ended March 2026. Your company aims to increase the figure to more than 35 billion yen by fiscal 2030. What are your plans for achieving this goal?
Yonekura: We want to become a space infrastructure company. When humans begin traveling to the moon and Mars, there will likely be a need for communication with family. Some may even want to watch a baseball game (being played on Earth) from the moon. To meet such demands, we aim to provide satellite-based communication services that match the quality found on Earth.
In the future, data center construction will likely expand into space. Data centers consume vast amounts of energy, but in space, solar power can be used to generate electricity constantly. I believe that communication services linking space data centers, satellites and Earth will become a reality within the next 10 years or so.
We are currently developing optical communication technology capable of handling high-capacity communications in space through Space Compass Corp., a joint venture with NTT Inc. We aim to establish this technology within the next two to three years to help us provide optical communication services in space.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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June 08, 2026 21:17 ET (01:17 GMT)
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