Japan saw the development of meteorological satellites as a way to use space activities to provide practical benefits to its citizens while also making a visible global contribution that would bestow prestige on the nation. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) enthusiastically accepted these advanced tools, and worked diligently to maintain funding for an operational series of satellites, working with a variety of partners within the Japanese government. Throughout the history of the program, JMA has been dedicated to sharing data with other National Meteorological Services, following WMO guidelines. It has also adopted relatively open policies with respect to research and commercial access to its data, and places no restrictions on use or redistribution. However, its technologies and processes for disseminating satellite weather data to nongovernment users have not progressed significantly over time. As of 2017, the low level of development of these data access systems stands in stark contrast to its advanced meteorological satellite technology.
As an island nation in the Pacific Ocean with a diverse geography, Japan faces a wide range of weather conditions, from typhoons and torrential rains to heavy snow, and Japan has a long history of government-supported meteorological observation to address these challenges. The Tokyo Meteorological Observatory, later renamed the Central Meteorological Observatory (CMO), was established within the Department of Interior in 1875, and Japan issued its first national weather forecast in 1884.1 By 1906, Japan had more than 100 meteorological stations, including stations in China and Korea, that provided information to the central office via telegraph.2 In 1952, as the operational capabilities of meteorology were on the rise, and the space age was growing near, Japan passed the Meteorological Service Act to guide the development of meteorological services in the country. CMO was renamed the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) in 1956.3
Japan's Council of Space Activities was created in 1960, but other than sounding rocket experiments at the university level, the nation was not very involved in space activities in the first decade of the space age. In 1969, when Japan created the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), an overriding goal was to establish the nation as a leader in science and technology, on par with other advanced nations. Japan moved quickly to catch up with the state of space technology and make its new status clear to other nations.4 The WMO's Global Weather Experiment (GWE) offered a good opportunity to achieve the latter goal. Japan had been a member of the WMO since 1953, and providing a geostationary weather satellite for this program would place the nation on par with the United States and Europe, which were providing the other components of the global constellation.5
To achieve the goal of catching up technologically and actually developing the satellite, Japan worked closely with the United States. In 1969, shortly before the creation of NASDA, the United States agreed to permit US industry to provide space technology and equipment to Japan.6 Japan's first Earth observation satellite, the Geostationary Meteorological System (GMS), also referred to as Himawari (Japanese for sunflower), was built by the US Hughes Space and Communications Company, the same company that developed the US Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). Development was completed in coordination with Japan's Nippon Electric Company (NEC) and NASDA. GMS was launched in 1977.7 After an initial checkout period, the satellite was transferred to JMA for operation.8 Cloud imagery collected by the satellite was disseminated directly to ground stations in the region via fax.9 China, South Korea, Australia, and others were able to use GMS data to support their own meteorological services.10 In support of the GWE, data was also provided to the Global Data Centers in the United States and Soviet Union, where it could be accessed at the cost of reproduction and dissemination by global researchers.11
Even with the success of the first satellite, JMA had to justify the substantial costs to gain support for continued development and operation of the series. In doing so, JMA emphasized plans to contribute to the WMO's Global Atmospheric Research and World Weather Watch programs. The agency aimed to ensure compatibility with US and European geostationary systems, particularly to meet the requirements of worldwide exchange of data. JMA reached out to NOAA in the United States to request information on its long-term planning to help ensure this compatibility. JMA also carried out an analysis of the economic benefit of its meteorological satellites, showing that the benefits far outweighed the costs.12 JMA did ultimately receive approval to continue the program, with GMS-2 through GMS-5 built with only very minor modifications to the original design and launched between 1981 and 1995.13 Data remained available through direct transmission and the WMO Global Telecommunication System. Archived data could be accessed by writing to the Japan Weather Association.14
In 1993, Japan amended the Meteorological Services Act to establish the Certified Weather Forecaster System. It enabled commercial-sector providers of meteorological services to gain authorization from the JMA Director General to implement their own forecasting services and retain certified weather forecasters.15 JMA also adopted a policy of providing meteorological data and products to the private business sector, mass media, and others on an open basis. The Japan Meteorological Business Support Center (JMBSC) was created in 1994 as a “general incorporated foundation”—essentially a government-registered organization operating on a nonprofit basis—to provide services relevant to the promotion of private meteorological business. JMBSC provided real-time and non-real-time JMA data and products to users at marginal cost.16 The policy led to a steady increase in the number of certified weather forecast service companies.17 In fact, private-sector meteorological companies in Europe pointed to the relatively large private weather industry in Japan, along with the United States, as evidence that Europe should abandon its cost recovery efforts and adopt open policies for its meteorological data.18
JMA had requested in 1987 that NASDA examine options for the second-generation Geostationary Meteorological Satellite series.19 However, despite the success of the first generation, JMA had difficulties securing funding to support the follow-on series. This was resolved by partnering with another organization within the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (MLIT), the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, which was interested in developing a space-based GPS augmentation system that would improve the precision and reliability of GPS in the area, allowing GPS navigation to be used for aviation purposes. It was determined that this instrument could be flown on the meteorological satellite. The result was the jointly developed Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT), which was expected to include two satellites. Unfortunately, the first MTSAT was lost in a launch failure in 1999.20
GMS-5, the last of the first-generation meteorological satellites, operated well beyond its five-year design life, until May, 2003, but this was still two years prior to the launch of Japan's MTSAT replacement, MTSAT-1R. Japan requested that NOAA move its GOES-9 geostationary satellite to help fill this gap. The United States agreed to do so, and GOES-9 was placed over Asia from May, 2003, to July, 2005, providing coverage until MTSAT-1R was launched and ready for operational use. MTSAT-2 was launched in 2006.21 Data from the satellites was made available via direct broadcast and through the WMO Global Telecommunications System. Near-real-time data could also be accessed online, but the service was restricted to National Meteorological Services (NMSs) due to the limitations of JMA's server capability and network bandwidth.22 Private entities, researchers, and others could access data through JMBSC.
Following the MTSAT launch failure and the long delay in launching MTSAT-1R and -2, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau declined to partner with JMA on future satellite projects, and once again, the agency was faced with challenges in finding adequate funding to maintain operations.23 However, in 2008, Japan passed the “Basic Space Law” that aimed to implement a more user-driven space policy. The Japanese Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy laid out a basic plan to align with the new law. The plan recognized the value of meteorological satellites in providing information relevant to everyday life. It also acknowledged the role that meteorological satellites had played on the international stage, including providing data to 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 30 years.24 Development of Earth observation and meteorological satellites, and in particular the Himawari 8 and 9 satellites, was one of five priority efforts to be pursued under the new plan.25
In March, 2011, Japan was hit by what is referred to in Japan as the “Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,” which caused significant damage, including the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. JMA, which had underestimated the size of the wave that caused the disaster, undertook significant analysis after the fact to determine what lessons could be learned.26 JMA's geostationary meteorological satellites also took on more significance after the disaster.27
At the 2011 WMO Congress, JMA increased its commitments to data sharing activities—at least on an official, government-to-government level. JMA was designated as a Global Information System Center and its Meteorological Satellite Center was designated as a Data Collection or Production Center.28 A Global Information System Center is responsible for collecting data and information from national and other data centers, aggregating those data and products, and exchanging them with other Global Information System Centers for global dissemination. These centers maintain a catalog of all data and products for global exchange in accordance with WMO standards and provide access for public and private networks. Data Collection or Production Centers provide specific roles in enabling the generation of data and products for international distribution.29 Data cataloged and cached by the Global Information System Center in Tokyo is available for use by registered users of National Meteorological Services.30
The first of Japan's third-generation meteorological satellites, Himawari-8, was launched in October 2014, and the second, Himawari-9, two years later in November, 2016. The satellites have significantly increased capabilities compared to past systems, providing a greater volume of data more frequently and with higher spatial resolution. Unlike past satellites, Himawari-8 and -9 do not carry equipment for direct dissemination of data. Instead, all imagery is collected by JMA and made available for NMSs online via its HimawariCloud service. Several Japanese universities and research organizations have also been authorized to access data via the HimawariCloud service and are redistributing the data for research purposes on a best-effort basis. Users that do not have sufficient Internet capability can instead access the data with a receiving terminal from HimawariCast, JMA's telecommunications broadcast. JMA also makes PNG and JPEG versions of Himawari imagery available on its website for public and meteorological use.31 Private entities, researchers, and others can access near-real-time and archived imagery by contacting JMBSC and making a request.32 JMBSC will provide data to these users via FTP, but access is subject to fees.33
Japan got a late start in space activities compared with the United States and Europe. When it did decide to join the sector, development of meteorological satellites offered a number of advantages. This was a field in which Japan had a long history and in which satellite data would provide a clear benefit to society. The ability to contract with US firms meant that Japan could leap ahead to the most advanced technology. Aligning with the Global Weather Experiment and the development of the World Weather Watch allowed Japan to make an important and highly visible global contribution—on par with Europe and the United States—with its very first satellite.
However, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) stands out largely for its consistency over time. Although it had challenges maintaining financial support for the satellite system itself, over nearly four decades, JMA has never significantly altered its data sharing practices. Its focus has always been fairly narrow, providing data for its own uses and to other national meteorological agencies in near real time, within the WMO framework. Data was made available for use by the private sector, researchers, and others at marginal cost, and as of 1994, provision of data to these users was outsourced to the Japan Meteorological Business Support Center. However, consistency is not always a good thing. The human-in-the loop data request process and the marginal cost pricing that were appropriate to prevailing technology in 1994 were unnecessarily limiting in 2017.
The Himawari-8 and -9 satellites are arguably the most advanced geostationary satellites ever launched. JMA has remained committed to sharing the data freely with NMSs in accordance with WMO systems, developing an advanced new cloud computing system for this purpose. JMA does not actively limit access to the data, and there are no restrictions on redistribution, but as of early 2017, it still did not have a dedicated portal or other method to provide broad and easy access to its data. JMBSC continues to make data available to researchers, private entities, and others, but the technology for sharing data with these users has not progressed in line with satellite systems and data sharing for official purposes.
1. JMA, “Japan Meteorological Agency: The National Meteorological Service of Japan” (JMA, 2012).
2. S T Tamura, “Japanese Meteorological Service in Korea and China,” Science (1906).Tetsu Tamura, “Meteorology in Japan: Recent Advances in Meteorology and Meteorological Service in Japan,” The Popular Science Monthly, February 1906.
3. JMA.
4. Kazuto Suzuki, “Transforming Japan's Space Policy-Making,” Space Policy 23, no. 2 (2007).
5. JMA.
6. “U.S.-Japan Space Agreement” (1969).
7. Boeing, “GMS—Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite in Orbit,” http://www.boeingimages.com/archive/GMS—Japan's-Geostationary-Meteorological-Satellite-in-Orbit-2F3XC5JCJCJ.html.
8. Y Kuroda, A Kubozono, and M Miyazawa, “NASDA Space Program in Japan” (1978).
9. B A Walton, “Radiocommunications for Meteorological Satellite Systems” (1975).
10. Masaichi Hirai et al., “Development of Experimental and Applications Satellites,” Acta Astronautica 7, nos. 8–9 (1980).
11. Gerald S. Schatz, The Global Weather Experiment: An Informal History (National Academy of Sciences, 1978).
12. Head of Planning Division for the Japan Meteorological Agency Yoshiro Sekiguchi, Letter, 6 February 1978.
13. Kiyoshi Tsuchiya, Kohei Arai, and Tamotsu Igarashi, “Present Status and Future Plans of the Japanese Earth Observation Satellite Program,” Advances in Space Research 9, no. 1 (1989).
14. JMA, “Meteorological Stellite Center Technical Note No. 7: Announcement—Improved or New Products” (1983).
15. “Japan Meteorological Agency: The National Meteorological Service of Japan.”
16. JMBSC, “Japan Meteorological Business Support Center (JMBSC) Brochure” (JMBSC, 2015).
17. Mitsuhiko Hatori, “Review of Japanese Meteorological Services and Lessons for Developing Countries,” in Disaster Risk Management Public Seminar No. 7: Modernizing Weather, Climate and Hydrological Services and Early Warning Systems: Experience of World Bank and Japan, ed. Japan Meteorological Business Support Center (JMBSC) (Tokyo, Japan, 2016).
18. Pirkko Saarikivi, Daniel Söderman, and Harry Newman, “Free Information Exchange and the Future of European Meteorology: A Private Sector Perspective” (2000).
19. Tsuchiya, Arai, and Igarashi.
20. Kazuto Suzuki, “A Brand New Space Policy or Just Papering over a Political Glitch? Japan's New Space Law in the Making,” Space Policy 24, no. 4 (2008).
21. Ibid.
22. JMA, “MTSAT Data Access” (World Meteorological Organization [WMO], 2011).
23. Suzuki, “A Brand New Space Policy or Just Papering over a Political Glitch? Japan's New Space Law in the Making.”
24. Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy, “Basic Plan for Space Policy: Wisdom of Japan Moves Space” (2009).
25. Setsuko Aoki, “Current Status and Recent Developments in Japan's National Space Law and Its Relevance to Pacific Rim Space Law and Activities,” Journal of Space Law 35 (2009).
26. David Cyranoski, “Japan's Tsunami Warning System Retreats: Lessons from Tohoku Wave Lead to Drop in Early Warning Precision,” Nature (2011).
27. Kotaro Bessho et al., “An Introduction to Himawari-8/9—Japan's New-Generation Geostationary Meteorological Satellites,” 気象集誌. 第 2 輯 94, no. 2 (2016).
28. JMA, “MTSAT Data Access.”
29. WMO, “WMO Information System (WIS),” https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/WIS/centres_en.html.
30. GISC Tokyo, “WIS Portal: Registration,” http://www.wis-jma.go.jp/cms/about-wis/registration/.
31. Bessho et al.
32. JMBSC, “Dissemination of Meteorological Data, Products and Information,” http://www.jmbsc.or.jp/en/meteo-data.html.
33. JMA, “Himawari 8 Data” (2015).