The Cabinet Office is the primary agency in charge of planning, designing and coordinating policies concerning space exploration, implementing policies regarding development, maintenance and operation. The strategic Headquarters for National Space Policy, Committee on National Space Policy, National Space Policy Secretariat are all under the Cabinet Office. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is the primary agency that supports research and development for Japan's space program. JAXA is an independent administrative agency, which works in conjunctly with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as well as Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Japan’s space policy was built on the Basic Space Law of 2008. The Basic Space Law of 2008 has clarified basic principles of Japanese space research and development and established the Committee on National Space Policy under the Cabinet Office, which is tasked to formulate the Basic Plan on Space Policy with its implementation plan. The recent Basic Plan on Space Policy released in 2023 includes provisions to pursue space security, support private sectors and economic development, encourage international cooperation, and promote the use of space for disaster prevention and responses.

Japan military space activity is guided by its Space Security Initiative, National Security Strategy, and National Defense Strategy. Key contemporary Japanese positions on space security also include its political commitment not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing in September 2022.