Live count
How many satellites does Japan have?
As of 4 October 2026, 14:19 UTC, the catalogue records 134 active satellites for Japan, 0.8 percent of the catalogue's active satellites.
See also: all owners ranked, United States, China, United Kingdom, CIS (former USSR).
What makes up this fleet
Recorded as "Japan", the 5th largest fleet among 99 owners.
Name families
Our own grouping by the run of two or more letters that starts each catalogue name ("DMC3" counts as DMC); where the catalogue uses more than one prefix for a fleet, we do not merge them. 1 of these satellites (0.7 percent) has no name family: its name does not start with two or more letters, such as Z-SAT.
| Family | Satellites | Share (percent) | Main orbit group | Most common CelesTrak group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRUS | 13 | 9.7 | Low | Amateur radio |
| QPS | 11 | 8.2 | Low | Earth observation |
| STRIX | 11 | 8.2 | Low | Earth observation |
| JCSAT | 9 | 6.7 | Geostationary | Geostationary |
| AE | 7 | 5.2 | Low | None recorded |
| QZS | 6 | 4.5 | Geostationary | Navigation |
| BSAT | 5 | 3.7 | Geostationary | Geostationary |
| GOSAT | 3 | 2.2 | Low | Fewer than 5 satellites |
| KAKUSHIN | 3 | 2.2 | Low | Fewer than 5 satellites |
| STARS | 3 | 2.2 | Low | Fewer than 5 satellites |
| 50 other families | 62 | 46.3 | ||
| No name family | 1 | 0.7 |
The group is the CelesTrak list a satellite is in, as the collector maps those lists to purposes; a satellite in several lists gets only one of them, so a family's group need not describe its mission.
Launched in the last 30 days
2 of these satellites were launched in the 30 days before the data time. Both have a name in the catalogue.
| Launch date | Satellites | Named | Only a launch designator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 September 2026 | 1 | STRIX-10 | None |
| 26 September 2026 | 1 | STRIX-11 | None |
Orbit groups
Japan leans towards the geostationary belt: 18.7 percent of its fleet against 3.4 percent of the catalogue. Groups as defined under how these numbers are made.
| Orbit group | Satellites | Share (percent) | Catalogue share (percent) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low (below 2,000 km) | 107 | 79.9 | 95.1 |
| Geostationary belt | 25 | 18.7 | 3.4 |
| High elliptical (e 0.25+) | 1 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Beyond geostationary | 1 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
None of them is in medium Earth orbit.
Map at the data time
Positions at 14:19 UTC are approximate (how). 20 within 1 degree of the equator (19 geostationary) are not placed north or south. Busiest band of the rest: the equator to 30 degrees south, 20.2 percent; 47.4 percent north of the equator.
Purposes
The catalogue records no purpose grouping for 40.3 percent of them. The most common recorded purpose is Earth observation, with 30 satellites, 22.4 percent. After it come Amateur radio (19), Geostationary (17) and Navigation (5).
| Purpose | Satellites |
|---|---|
| Unspecified | 54 |
| Earth observation | 30 |
| Amateur radio | 19 |
| Geostationary | 17 |
| Navigation | 5 |
| Science | 3 |
| Space station | 2 |
| Weather and climate | 2 |
| All other purposes | 2 |
Launch years
Only 47.8 percent of them were launched in 2022 or later. The launch year with the most of them is 2026, with 31.
| Launch year | Satellites |
|---|---|
| Earlier | 22 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 9 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 19 |
| 2026 | 31 |
Earliest launches among satellites the catalogue lists as active:
| Launch date | Satellites |
|---|---|
| 12 August 1986 | AJISAI (EGS) |
| 17 August 1996 | JAS-2 (FO-29) |
| 20 November 1998 | HMU-SAT2, HOKUSHIN-1 and LEOPARD |
How this was counted
134 of the 16,629 satellites on the count page carry the owner "Japan". Full method: how these numbers are made.
Questions
Where does Japan rank among satellite owners?
5th. The CIS (former USSR) is ahead with 381; To Be Determined follows with 112.
Which name family is largest among satellites the catalogue records for Japan?
GRUS, with 13, ahead of QPS and STRIX with 11 each; 1 has no name family, too few to change that order.
How many were launched in the last 30 days?
2 of the 160 active satellites launched in the 30 days before the data time.
Sources
CelesTrak: active list, SATCAT, owner codes, status codes.