New Books Network Subodhana Wijeyeratne, "The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs" (Stanford UP, 2026)
Feb 23, 2026
Subodhana Wijeyeratne, assistant professor of history and author of The Islands and the Stars, traces nearly a century of Japan’s space programs. He discusses early 1920s imagination and wartime rocketry, postwar revival and institutional splits, the rise of satellites and industrial drivers, 1990s setbacks, and the 2003 creation of JAXA and its contemporary global role.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Submarine Carried German Rocket Parts To Japan
- During WWII Japan covertly acquired German rocket tech by sending engine samples across the globe.
- Subodhana recounts a submarine voyage from occupied France around the Cape of Good Hope to Singapore carrying rocket materials.
US Occupation Ground Japan's Aeronautics
- Postwar U.S. occupation initially banned aeronautical engineering in Japan until 1952.
- That pause left trained engineers idle, then freed them after independence to rebuild industry and restart rocketry work like Itokawa's AVSA lab.
Itokawa Built Japan's Postwar Rocketry From Curiosity
- Itokawa Hideo returned from the U.S. inspired by animal spaceflight research and founded AVSA to pursue Japanese rocketry.
- Subodhana highlights Itokawa's nationalist drive and earlier work designing the Hayabusa fighter.
