Autonomy or International Cooperation? The Japanese Space Industry Responds to U.S. Pressure

Abstract

The examination of the U.S.—Japan conflicts from the mid-1980s to early 1990s over the space industry sheds light on our understanding of the Japanese political economy. The Japanese response to U.S. pressure was not so strategic as conventional wisdom suggests. Under U.S. pressure, Japan shifted to international cooperation, abandoning the autonomous development policy it had sought for four decades. This unexpected policy change primarily resulted from the lack of clear jurisdictional authority among the government actors over the rapidly changing space industry. This study's findings will apply to other high technology industries such as telecommunications and information technology, where bureaucratic boundaries are ambiguous and technological change is rapid.