This past August, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by lawmaker Hiroshi Imazu, released a new blueprint for realigning the nation’s space activities and budget to better serve its overarching national security and economic priorities.

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A graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where he won the Horgan Prize for Excellence in Science Writing, Paul Kallender-Umezu is co-author of “In Defense of Japan: From the Market to the Military in Space Policy” (Stanford University...