Joint Announcement on
Japan–United States GPS Cooperation

July 24, 2013, Tokyo, Japan

Japanese and U.S. delegations at the plenary meeting
Photo credit: Tom Stansell

The Governments of the United States of America and Japan held their 10th plenary meeting in Tokyo, Japan on July 24, 2013, to review and discuss cooperation in the civil use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). These consultations have been held periodically pursuant to the "Joint Statement on Cooperation in the Use of the Global Positioning System" signed by the heads of the two Governments on September 22, 1998.

During the meeting, the Government of Japan reported on the current status and future plans of QZSS and Japan's international cooperation activities related to Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) while the U.S. Government reported on the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), GPS Modernization, and international GNSS cooperative activities. Both Governments noted with satisfaction the successful operation of two QZSS monitoring stations in the U.S., one in Guam and the other in Hawaii, following the start of operation of the first Quasi-Zenith satellite in July 2011, and assented to extend the Japan-U.S. Agreements regarding the QZSS monitoring stations.

Both Governments exchanged opinions related to the approaches for the International Committee on GNSS (ICG) meetings and workshops focused on Interference Detection and Mitigation (IDM) and multi system interoperability. Both Governments renewed their commitment to cooperate with each other in multilateral meetings.

The GPS/QZSS Technical Working Group (TWG), which was established to foster close cooperation during the development of QZSS, reported that the Office of National Space Policy, Cabinet Office will lead the Japanese side at the TWG following the structural change made to space policy making of the Japanese Government. Representatives of both Governments reviewed the ongoing work of the TWG, and the TWG reaffirmed that GPS and QZSS are designed to be compatible and highly interoperable.

The 10th Plenary meeting strengthened cooperative relations between the United States and Japan. Both Governments reaffirmed that continued close cooperation in the area of GNSS will contribute to the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific region and promote global economic growth. Both Governments reaffirmed the importance of providing open access to basic GNSS services for peaceful purposes, free of direct user fees.