At a press conference on the morning of May 28, Minister of State for Space Policy Takuya Hirai welcomed the agreement reached by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump to strengthen cooperation in the area of space, including exploration of the lunar surface. “The United States is an important partner in the field of outer space,” Hirai said. “I look forward to our cooperation developing further.”

Hirai expressed the intention to conclude by year-end the discussions on Japan’s cooperation in the U.S.-led Gateway project, a plan for crewed exploration of the moon.