The article describes the history of the space technology development in Japan, the main steps of the Japanese space activity and the most important achievements in this area, as well as prospects of the future space exploration by Japanese satellites and spaceships. The authors have analyzed Japan’s space program, have indicated the main achievements and failures, have described the activity of Japanese astronauts and their contribution into the space exploration. The article outlines the forecast for coming years in the field of the Japanese space activity.