Japan’s $926M Subsidy Push Lifts ASTS Stock <\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Nikkei, Japan’s government is expected to provide 150 billion yen ($926 million) in subsidies to a Rakuten Group-led consortium developing a homegrown satellite communications network with AST SpaceMobile. The subsidies are expected to be provided over three years and will help fund equipment procurement, ground facilities, and systems needed to launch and control a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites. A formal decision by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is expected soon. <\/p>\n
Rakuten plans to partner with AST SpaceMobile to build a direct-to-mobile satellite network in Japan, allowing ordinary smartphones to connect directly to satellites without specialized hardware. <\/p>\n
Rakuten Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani told Nikkei that the company plans to form a new joint venture for satellite operations with AST SpaceMobile in 2026. The two sides are expected to hold equal stakes, with Rakuten leading management. Rakuten Mobile has also been targeting limited-service use of AST satellites in 2026, with broader nationwide coverage expected in fiscal 2027. <\/p>\n
ASTS Helps Japan Cut Starlink Reliance <\/p>\n
The project is being developed as an economic security priority. Japan wants a domestically operated satellite communications network at a time when foreign players, especially SpaceX’s Starlink, dominate the market. The need became clearer after the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, when Starlink was used to restore communications until cable connections were repaired. <\/p>\n
Direct-to-mobile satellite service could also help connect mountainous regions, remote islands, and disaster zones where ground-based infrastructure is difficult to build or may be damaged. <\/p>\n
Japan is also preparing the regulatory path for the Rakuten-AST network. The communications ministry indicated last week that it would allow direct satellite communications in the 700 MHz band, with related rules expected to be revised in September. This matters since Rakuten already uses the 700 MHz band for ground-based mobile service. The band could now support direct links between ordinary smartphones and low-Earth-orbit satellites. <\/p>\n
Rakuten is turning to AST SpaceMobile as it has not been allocated the 2 GHz band used by Starlink, making AST key to its effort to build a Japan-backed direct-to-cell network. <\/p>\n
How Do Retail Traders Feel About ASTS? <\/p>\n
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS jumped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ levels a day ago amid a 669% jump in 24-hour message volumes. <\/p>\n
One user\u00a0said<\/a>, “$ASTS this deal with Japan will prioritize launch cadence. Their Mitsubishi H3 rocket can take up to 3 BB’s per launch.” <\/p>\n Another user\u00a0said<\/a>, “$ASTS back to $130 we go! Just wait til the Japan news comes out too. $200+ by August.” <\/p>\n ASTS stock has jumped 76% over the past year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com. <\/p>\n Read Next:\u00a0RKLB Stock Keeps Flying Overnight: Analyst Says Rocket Lab Outbid ASTS, Other Rivals For Iridium In ‘Bolt From The Blue’ Deal\u00a0<\/a> <\/p>\n Deepti Sri has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. StockTwits’ news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy<\/a>. This article was originally published on StockTwits<\/a>. <\/p>\n Related: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan will reportedly provide $926 million in subsidies to a Rakuten-led satellite network with AST SpaceMobile. The funding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[29803,29802,8,9734,33,34077,6911,32879,34076],"class_list":["post-50466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-ast-spacemobile","tag-asts","tag-japan","tag-low-earth-orbit-satellites","tag-nihon","tag-orbit-satellites","tag-rakuten","tag-rakuten-mobile","tag-satellite-network"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a> ASTS sentiment and message volume as of June 29| Source: Stocktwits <\/p>\n