IIJ Joins PFI Project by the JMA and NICT for Operation of Himawari-9/10 Geostationary Meteorological Satellites

PDF [465KB] / Japanese

TOKYO - December 15, 2025 - Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (TSE Prime: 3774 ), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced the signing of a business agreement on December 15 regarding a PFI project (*1) to be carried out by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) for operation of the next-generation Himawari geostationary meteorological satellites. A consortium consisting of Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc. (as representative), IIJ, and SPACE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd. was selected for the project on October 3. The three-party agreement was concluded by the JMA, NICT, and a special-purpose company (SPC) established by the consortium members.
Under this project, IIJ and partners will be responsible for provisioning of ground facilities and equipment, their maintenance, and satellite operations for the current Himawari-9 weather satellite and also for Himawari-10 scheduled to go into orbit in fiscal 2030. The roles of IIJ include provision of its data center facilities (in Chiba Prefecture) and the development and maintenance of servers, operating terminals and other ground IT and network infrastructure.

• (*1)PFI: Private Finance Initiative. A method of funding and operating public infrastructure or other public facilities by going through a private consortium so as to make use of private sector funding and expertise.

Project Overview

Of the geostationary meteorological satellites operated by the JMA, Himawari-9 is currently in operational mode and Himawari-8 is in in-orbit standby mode. As a successor satellite, Himawari-10 is planned to be launched into orbit in fiscal 2030, after which it will begin observation and Himawari-9 will be switched to standby use.
The purpose of this project is to ensure the stable, sustainable, efficient, and effective operation of the geostationary meteorological satellites that are among Japan's key social infrastructure. To this end, the project members will supervise and control the Himawari-10 and Himawari-9 satellites; collect, process, and transmit their observation data; and maintain the necessary facilities and equipment, while providing the JMA and NICT with observation data through the end of fiscal 2043.

Overview of the Special Purpose Company (SPC)

Name: Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Systems Services

Member companies:

Company name	Roles
Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc.	Supervision and management services FA (financial advisory) services Funding
SPACE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd.	Overall satellite operation services Frequency adjustment-related support services Wireless station management-related support services
Internet Initiative Japan Inc.	Overall development and maintenance of ground facilities and equipment, including data centers, servers, networks, operating terminals, and systems

Contract amount (tax included)

Entire project: Approx. JPY44.6 billion

Role of IIJ in the project

The ground facilities and equipment for operating Himawari satellites consist of a Primary Station for satellite control and for receiving, processing, and transmitting observation data, and a Secondary Station for ensuring redundancy. Both stations have an antenna site and data center. The sites are interconnected by a broadband mesh WAN. Since Himawari-10 will have enhanced observation functions, plans call for expanding the network bandwidth by more than tenfold from the current level, while introducing a storage system capable of large-capacity, high-speed processing.
IIJ will be responsible for the design, provisioning, and maintenance of servers, network, operating terminals and other infrastructure equipment at four locations, namely, the Primary Station antenna site (in Saitama Prefecture), the Primary Station data center (in Chiba Prefecture), the Secondary Station antenna site (in Hokkaido), and the Secondary Station data center (on the same grounds as the Secondary Station antenna site).

Through this project, IIJ aims to strengthen ties with related organizations and companies and to build up satellite business expertise, while making use of its advanced network technology to create new value in space-related and public infrastructure fields, as well as providing technology that helps solve society's challenges, aiming for realization of a sustainable society.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

• +81-3-5205-6310
• +81-3-5205-6377
• press@iij.ad.jp

• (*)All company, product, and service names used in this press release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.