Venture Firm to Build Space Debris Monitoring Base in Kiyosato Resort; Defunct Elementary School to House

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:05 JST, February 2, 2025

HOKUTO, Yamanashi — A Tokyo-based venture firm plans to build a space debris monitoring facility in the Kiyosato area, known as a summer resort in Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Construction is expected to start as early as this spring on the grounds of a former elementary school. Located at a high altitude and blessed with clear air and days of sunny weather, Kiyosato appears perfect for such a facility. Local residents hope it will help revitalize the local economy.

LSAS Tec Co., a company involved in space analysis, plans to build a dome-shaped facility measuring about three meters in diameter to house an optical astrometric telescope on the grounds of the now defunct Takane-Kiyosato Elementary School.

The planned construction site is based at an altitude of about 1,200 meters. “There is nothing that blocks [the view in] the sky, and the site meets the requirements to be the monitoring base,” said an official at the company. “We hope to finalize more details with the municipal government.”

LSAS Tec has already outlined the project to local residents. It plans to start construction after signing a basic agreement with the city, which owns the former school, as early as this month.

Space debris refers to the wreckage from defunct satellites and rockets. In one estimate, there were about 36,500 pieces of space debris measuring at least 10 centimeters in diameter orbiting the Earth as of 2021. There has been a string of incidents where debris, which flies at a high speed, has collided with and destroyed operational satellites, posing serious problems.

LSAS Tec plans to monitor space debris by controlling the telescope remotely, with the collected data to be provided to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other space firms. It hopes the data will be used to prevent debris colliding with satellites and remove debris itself.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Kiyosato was visited by many young people thanks to its fairy tale-style buildings. It was therefore called “Harajuku in the highlands” after the name of a popular shopping area in Tokyo.

Since the collapse of the economic bubble, however, Kiyosato has seen many stores shut down their business, facing the need for revitalization. Local residents are hoping that the planned base will also attract tourists and children.

According to the Cabinet Office, major facilities in Japan for monitoring space debris include JAXA’s Bisei Space Guard Center and Kamisaibara Space Guard Center, both in Okayama Prefecture, as well as a Defense Ministry facility in Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi Prefecture.