Marcos bares collaboration between Philippines, Japan space agencies

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos strengthened the Philippines’ space and tourism ties with Japan during his four-day working visit to Osaka, highlighted by meetings with top officials of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and key Japanese stakeholders, Malacañang said Friday.

Marcos, joined by First Lady Liza Marcos and members of the Philippine delegation, met with JAXA executives to explore expanded cooperation with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), particularly in the use of space technology for disaster response, agriculture and community safety.

“We’re working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), together with our very own Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), to use space technology that helps protect and improve the lives of Filipinos,” Marcos said in a post on social media.

“With better satellites, we can track typhoons and respond to disasters more quickly, help our farmers plan tsmarter and keep our communities safer,” he added.

JAXA has long been a partner of the Philippines in space science, technology and applications through the Department of Science and Technology.

DOST has also collaborated with Japanese universities on several satellite development projects, including the microsatellites DIWATA-1 and DIWATA-2, nanosatellites MAYA-1 and MAYA-2 and the country’s first university-built nanosatellites.

Established in 2003 through a merger of three institutions, JAXA became a National Research and Development Agency in 2015. It promotes aerospace research and development with a focus on international cooperation, industry engagement and education.

As part of his Osaka visit, the President toured the Philippine Pavilion at the World Expo 2025, which showcases the largest collaboration of Filipino weavers to date – featuring over 200 handwoven panels by master artisans from across the country.

The Department of Tourism reported that the pavilion has welcomed 372,611 visitors as of June 19. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) noted it is a crowd favorite at the Expo, drawing more than 300,000 guests in just two months.

The President also visited the Japan Pavilion, which carries the theme “Between Lives,” and met with Japanese tourism stakeholders as well as executives from Kanadevia Corporation, Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

His working visit was made upon the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, who extended the invitation during his official visit to the Philippines in April.

The President is expected to return to Manila today.