Rakuten and AST Form Rakuten AST for Japan D2D Net

Rakuten Group, Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile have agreed to establish Rakuten AST, a Japan joint venture to build a direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications network for everyday smartphones. The companies say they agreed the venture on 6 November 2026 Japan time; the English release is dated 9 November 2026.

Voting rights are split 51% Rakuten Group and 49% AST SpaceMobile Japan Holdings II GK, a Japan-based wholly owned indirect subsidiary of AST SpaceMobile. Representative director and CEO is Ryoji Osaka. Legal capital is listed at 100 million yen, with establishment planned for November 2026. AST will supply the satellites that power what the release calls Japan’s sovereign D2D constellation. Business scope is satellite procurement plus operation and management of satellite connectivity.

J-LEO funding and the 2029 target

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications selected a joint proposal from Rakuten’s preparatory company and Rakuten Mobile for the J-LEO (Japan Low Earth Orbit Satellite Communications) project. Rakuten AST is expected to receive up to 148 billion yen (approximately 1 billion US dollars) in support over about three years through the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan (CIAJ), which manages the fund. Grant money is to be received through CIAJ after the joint venture is established.

The venture plans to deploy and manage mid-band-compatible LEO satellites and “commence domestic operations by the end of March 2029.” That is a plan date, not a live service. Beyond filling coverage gaps, the project aims to keep cellular broadband available in disasters by establishing a framework for emergency inter-carrier roaming among mobile network operators. Ground-based base-station equipment is meant to let Japanese operators manage the network flexibly on the ground while AST’s large LEO satellites provide the space segment.

The release says next-generation satellites will carry a phased array of about 223 square metres, with Block 1 BlueBird satellites already demonstrating peak downlink of 98.9 Mbps to standard phones in AST’s prior tests—AST’s figures, not TSN measurements. Mickey Mikitani, in the companies’ own release, called the project “a key pillar of Rakuten Mobile’s network strategy” for disaster-resilient infrastructure; Abel Avellan framed it as validating space-based cellular broadband as a complement to terrestrial networks. Those are executive comments in the primary release, not third-party press quotes.

Rakuten Mobile also plans commercial-environment testing of its satellite-to-mobile service within 2026 under the firms’ existing strategic partnership dating to March 2020. Capacity outside Japan is described as a later possibility through AST’s global customers, subject to regulatory approval.

How this sits beside other D2D moves

TSN has already covered adjacent satellite-to-phone steps, including AT&T and AST SpaceMobile’s claimed ground-to-satellite handoff, the FCC’s proposal for more direct-to-device spectrum, and Globalstar’s C-3 authorisation. Rakuten AST is a Japan-specific ownership and funding structure, not a US spectrum decision.

Sovereign D2D is a grant story before it is a coverage story

The headline number in this release is the subsidy ceiling, not a subscriber count. Up to ¥148bn via J-LEO buys a Japanese-flagged mid-band constellation plan with a domestic operations target of end-March 2029 and a disaster-roaming mandate written into the public brief. That is industrial policy attached to a satellite JV, not evidence that off-the-shelf phones in Japan can already stream from LEO at scale.

Ownership matters for the same reason. A 51/49 split with a Japan-based AST unit and a named Japanese CEO is how the structure answers “who operates this in an emergency.” Whether that structure still looks sovereign once satellites, spectrum coordination and roaming agreements are fully negotiated is the open question for 2027–2029.

The useful next evidence is concrete: commercial-environment test results within 2026, CIAJ grant drawdowns, and whether emergency inter-carrier roaming moves from framework language into operator agreements. Until then, treat Rakuten AST as a funded plan with a hard calendar target, not a live network.

Sources

• Rakuten / AST SpaceMobile joint release, 9 November 2026
• CIAJ J-LEO grant decision PDF
• MIC J-LEO selection document

Related stories

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile’s satellite handoff claim is the nearest prior TSN read on AST’s D2D path with a major mobile operator.