EXCLUSIVE: Bremen Mayor Seeks Space Cooperation with Japan

Tokyo, May 27 (Jiji Press)–Andreas Bovenschulte, the mayor of the German city of Bremen, has called for cooperation between Japan and Germany in the space sector, saying space development should be made more autonomous to counter SpaceX founder Elon Musk. “We cannot be dependent on what Elon Musk provides,” Bovenschulte said in an interview with Jiji Press in Tokyo on Tuesday. “We urgently need an alternative…to (SpaceX’s satellite communication network) Starlink,” the mayor added. The city, located in northern Germany, is at the heart of the country’s aerospace industry and is one of Europe’s leading space hubs. “Satellite business is very, very important,” Bovenschulte said, expressing hopes to work together with Japan in the space sector to challenge the current state in which the U.S. entrepreneur virtually dominates space communications. Bovenschulte’s Japan itinerary included a visit to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, which signed an agreement in 2022 to deepen ties with the German Aerospace Center. On defense, an area of focus for Bremen, Bovenschulte said, “You can’t rely as much on the United States (for security) that you could…years ago.” He highlighted the need for countries not to be dependent on others politically in the defense sector. “I think we need (Japan-Germany) cooperation in developing the means for our mutual defense,” Bovenschulte said, adding that a tie-up would help “reduce costs.” Bovenschulte serves as president of the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper chamber of parliament. During his Japan visit, he met with Masakazu Sekiguchi, president of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. Bovenschulte said that the two sides agreed to “work even closer to gain an autonomous way and an autonomous path to space, and so that we are not dependent on other countries.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]