In December 2022, JAXA made its first investment in a company, a certified "JAXA Startup" company called Tenchijin, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Tenchijin"), that conducts business utilizing JAXA's intellectual property and knowledge. We interviewed TSUCHIYA Koyo and SASHIDA Sayaka about JAXA's new investment operations.

TSUCHIYA described the benefits of the investment: "With the Law Concerning the Revitalization of Science, Technology and Innovation Creation having been revised to stimulate innovation through industry-academia-government collaboration, JAXA is now able to investment in startup companies and venture capital firms as well as establish corporations to support utilization of the outcomes of JAXA's efforts. JAXA's investments will seek to accelerate the development of businesses that utilize JAXA's R&D results, thereby generating a new tailwind for the space industry. JAXA's investments are also expected to support the business growth of its portfolio companies and to have a 'priming effect' in accelerating private-sector capital investment in their business fields."

Tenchijin, the beneficiary of JAXA's first such investment, was established by a JAXA staff member and a developer with expertise in the use of satellite data in agriculture and other fields. The company's main business is the development and operation of "Tenchijin COMPASS," an information platform for land evaluation that proposes the most suitable land for specific needs by analyzing space big data (ground surface temperatures, precipitation levels, etc.) obtained from JAXA satellites and other earth observation satellites in combination with geological data, land use data, etc.

SASHIDA explained JAXA's choice to invest in Tenchijin: "Tenchijin is engaged in business that promotes the use of JAXA's intended space development efforts and to employ the outcomes of these efforts on behalf of society. In addition, we decided to invest in Tenchijin because of its vigorous business development both domestically and internationally in the field of satellite data applications from the perspective of land use and geospatial applications."

JAXA will be helping to quicken Tenchijin's growth with this investment, and it plans in future to team up with startup companies as well as venture capital firms to consider what kinds of satellite data are in demand from users' points of view and undertake wide-ranging investments in next-generation technologies that could revolutionize space technology and advanced technology research in non-space fields.

"We hope that JAXA's investments will help expand the scale of the space industry, increase the numbers of various players, and promote open innovation."