On October 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of State and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) confirmed that the United States and Japanese governments are jointly promoting the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite infrastructure developed by AST SpaceMobile and Rakuten Group under the official U.S.–Japan Technology Prosperity Deal.
The bilateral protocol frames the companies’ direct-to-device (D2D) cellular constellation as a strategic sovereign asset designed to advance resilient non-terrestrial telecommunications, technological leadership, and economic security across the Indo-Pacific region.
Strategic Context and Bilateral Governance Framework
The official designation follows high-level bilateral discussions held in Kyoto, Japan, on October 4, 2026, between Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Toshiharu Furukawa, Japan’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy. Following the bilateral summit, the U.S. Department of State issued a joint protocol on October 5 formalizing the inclusion of the AST SpaceMobile and Rakuten joint project within the broader U.S.–Japan science and technology framework.
By integrating the AST SpaceMobile and Rakuten commercial alliance directly into government-to-government policy objectives, both nations are positioning space-based direct-to-cell infrastructure as a core pillar of national defense, emergency disaster response, and regional connectivity. The strategic endorsement aligns with Washington’s goal to deploy trusted, U.S.-developed space hardware across allied markets, while supporting Tokyo’s objective to establish sovereign non-terrestrial network resilience across the Japanese archipelago.
The policy designation builds upon AST SpaceMobile’s commercial service activation in Japan alongside Rakuten, which established direct LEO-to-cell phone connectivity across Japan’s main islands and mountainous remote prefectures earlier in the year.
Technical Architecture, Strategic Capital, and Sovereign Backing
The joint initiative leverages AST SpaceMobile’s low Earth orbit phased-array satellite architecture, which communicates directly with standard, unmodified 4G and 5G mobile devices using commercial cellular spectrum allocations. Designed to operate without requiring specialized chipsets or external antenna attachments on end-user smartphones, the system routes voice, messaging, and broadband data directly into Rakuten Mobile’s terrestrial wireless core network.
The policy alignment facilitates potential access to non-dilutive government-backed capital reserves to support constellation scaling. The Japanese government previously authorized a $926 million strategic funding allocation dedicated to strengthening national telecommunications resilience, reinforcing emergency communications networks during seismic events, and supporting international satellite infrastructure partnerships. Rakuten maintains a strategic equity position in AST SpaceMobile, holding approximately 15.51 million shares representing roughly a 5.3% equity stake in the space infrastructure company.
Joint Protocol Statements and Executive Perspectives
In a joint statement issued by the U.S. Department of State following the October 4 ministerial meeting in Kyoto, both governments underscored the strategic necessity of accelerating joint innovation across critical and emerging technology domains.
“Recognising that technological innovation continues to advance at an unprecedented pace worldwide, the United States and Japan reaffirmed the importance of further strengthening US-Japan collaboration in strategic science and technology capabilities and standards to usher in the next Golden Age of Innovation to fortify freedom and prosperity for generations to come,” the official protocol stated. “Both sides welcomed Japan’s Rakuten Group and the US-based AST SpaceMobile cooperation for the development and deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite infrastructure.”
Regional Market Dynamics and Deployment Outlook
The formal endorsement positions Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile against rival regional carriers that have aligned with alternative satellite constellations. Japanese mobile operators including KDDI Corporation, SoftBank Corp., and NTT Docomo have pursued partnerships with SpaceX’s Starlink network to provide direct-to-cell supplemental coverage.
By embedding the AST SpaceMobile and Rakuten architecture within the bilateral U.S.–Japan Technology Prosperity Deal, the partnership secures high-level policy backing as AST SpaceMobile expands its BlueBird satellite constellation deployment. The combined framework provides a structured pathway for deploying dual-use direct-to-device communications across commercial telecom markets, defense architectures, and emergency management agencies across the Indo-Pacific.
