Tokyo is set to grant a Rakuten Group-led (TYO:4755) consortium 150 billion yen over three years to build a domestic low-Earth orbit satellite communications system, Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
The internal affairs ministry is expected to formalize the decision shortly. Rakuten will collaborate with U.S.-based AST SpaceMobile to deploy a direct-to-handset satellite network across Japan, the publication said.
Rakuten didn't immediately respond to MT Newswire's request for comment.
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