TOKYO — Japan’s latest space policy document places the country’s Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) system at the heart of its national security reconnaissance and disaster monitoring strategy, leaving decisions on any future military space capabilities to the Ministry of Defense.

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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...