ICEYE Japan’s new CEO will be Yasuhiro Tsukahara—formerly the COO of Japan Space Imaging Corp., a satellite imagery and geospatial company.
The move, announced Friday, positions Finnish Earth observation company ICEYE, parent company of ICEYE Japan, to take advantage of the Japanese government’s plans to invest ¥1T ($6.8B) in the space sector over the next ten years as part of its Space Strategy Fund.
The government’s goal is to double the size of its space economy to ¥8T ($54.4B) by 2030, and ICEYE’s new CEO wants the company to be at the center of this growth.
Rising SAR: When ICEYE first established its Japanese office in 2021, it appointed Makoto Higashi—the former CEO of Japan Space Imaging Corp.—as the office’s general manager.
Tsukahara’s appointment, and the establishment of a CEO position in general for ICEYE Japan, could imply that ICEYE is granting more independence to the regional office, where business has been booming.
In May, ICEYE signed an MOU with IHI, the Japanese A&D company, to build a 24-bird, dual-use SAR constellation in Japan. As part of this deal, ICEYE and IHI are establishing a satellite manufacturing facility in Japan to build the constellation.
All the eye can see: ICEYE’s expansion in Japan follows a string of similar moves by the Finnish SAR company. It has spent the last ten years methodically opening offices, production facilities, and R&D centers around the globe.
ICEYE now has a presence in at least nine countries to partner with local space agencies, militaries, and A&D primes, including the Hellenic Space Agency in Greece, the Polish Armed Forces, and Rheinmetall in Germany.
ICEYE’s expansion seems to be increasing in pace. In May, the company announced the opening of two new manufacturing facilities—in Greece and Spain—less than two weeks apart.
