Chinese Satellites Pass Over Japan Every 10 Minutes, Monitoring U.S. Military Bases

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:15 JST, March 15, 2026

A group of satellites believed to be operated by the Chinese military for intelligence purposes pass over Japan about one time every 10 minutes, it has been learned.

According to an analysis by The Yomiuri Shimbun, 10 of the satellites fly over areas around bases belonging to the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military, taking about two hours to pass.

The Japanese government is aware of the satellites and has increased its vigilance, believing they are intended to track Japanese and U.S. activities in the event of a Taiwan contingency and other situations.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, in cooperation with space engineering experts and private companies, analyzed the movements of the Chinese Yaogan satellites using public data from Space-Track.org, a U.S. Space Force website.

China has been launching the satellites since 2006. They are believed to include optical satellites and signals intelligence satellites, with the majority operating in low-Earth orbit.

A U.S. congressional report noted that a Yaogan satellite located in geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometers away may be capable of tracking objects the size of a car.

Of the about 160 Yaogan satellites confirmed as of December 2025, the analysis concluded that around 80 were active, as they appeared to have adjusted their altitudes over the past three years.

A computer-generated 3D simulation of the 80 satellites’ movements showed that they primarily operated between 35 degrees north latitude and 35 degrees south latitude, which includes areas over Japan and Taiwan.

Specifically, the areas include Okinawa Prefecture; Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture; and Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture — all of which host SDF and U.S. military bases. Other than the Japanese territories, the satellites passed over Taiwan, the South China Sea and the U.S. territory of Guam, which also hosts U.S. military bases.

An analysis of the satellites’ flight paths over a period of about one week in late December revealed that they had passed over the area surrounding the U.S. Navy’s Yokosuka base about 60 times per day on average. On some days, nine satellites passed over the base over the two hours leading up to noon, with four of them passing almost simultaneously.

“There is a possibility that China is monitoring the deployment status of SDF and U.S. military units almost constantly,” a former senior officer of the Air Self-Defense Force said.

Another former ASDF senior officer pointed out, “China is trying to develop intelligence and surveillance capabilities comparable to the U.S. military.”