At the ceremony, Dr Le Xuan Huy, Deputy Director General of the VNSC (under the VAST), and Yasuo Ishii, Senior Vice President of JAXA, signed and exchanged the amended agreement on satellite data sharing between the two sides.
Since 2017, VNSC and JAXA have cooperated in sharing the imagery of the ALOS-2 (Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2). The ALOS-2 equipped with the PALSAR-2 radar sensor (L-band) has provided 130,000 images covering Viet Nam, including nearly 100,000 images within the Viet Nam Data Cube system.
This cooperation has enabled VNSC to access the data free of charge and share it with the Vietnamese scientific community for research on monitoring rice growth in the Mekong Delta, rapid flood tracking, as well as climate change and forest monitoring.
In July 2024, JAXA successfully launched the next-generation satellite ALOS-4, equipped with the PALSAR-3 sensor, which offers a wider observation range and higher resolution. This development opens opportunities for VNSC to access improved data sources, helping to maintain and enhance the quality of existing resource monitoring applications.
To facilitate this, both sides agreed to amend certain provisions of the original agreement. The revised agreement retains the core spirit of the 2017 cooperation: JAXA will continue to provide advanced satellite data from ALOS-2 and ALOS-4, while VNSC will receive, process, and produce scientific reports on the applications of the data.
The signing of this amendment establishes the legal basis for VNSC to serve as Viet Nam’s official agency in receiving this data stream, ensuring continuity in observation datasets while opening new opportunities for applying advanced radar technology to sustainable development and climate change response across ministries and sectors. It also contributes to deepening and enhancing the effectiveness of space cooperation between Viet Nam and Japan.
The signing and exchange ceremony took place in the presence of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as part of the latter’s official visit to Viet Nam on May 1–3.
