Direct flights, space exploration, highlight DeSantis’ Japanese trip | Florida

(The Center Square) – In a talk with business leaders on an international trade mission to Japan, Gov. Ron DeSantis touted Florida’s economic growth and success as a reason for more Japanese companies to engage in business with Florida. He also said to do so, Florida needs to expand greater direct flight opportunities.

He said, “Florida is the biggest market in the United States that doesn’t have direct transport to Japan.” Georgia, Florida’s northern neighbor, has half the size of Florida’s economy but twice as many Japanese businesses operating there than in Florida, DeSantis said. “I think that flight is a big reason why,” he said, noting that there are direct flights to Atlanta from Japan but not to Florida. “It’s harder to get to Florida,” he said.

After meeting with Japanese officials and a business delegation, DeSantis also met with All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines executives to discuss new direct flight opportunities between Florida and Japan. He argued direct flights to Orlando and Miami to and from Japan would help foster strong business opportunities as well as bolster tourism. 

Florida has two of the largest airports in the country. In 2022, Miami International Airport was the busiest airport in Florida, receiving a record-breaking 50.6 million visitors. Orlando International Airport, which is historically one of the top ten busiest airports in the U.S., had 50.1 million visitors last year.

DeSantis also met with members of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to discuss a Japanese-Florida space and aerospace partnership and possibly host a joint space symposium with Space Florida next year. 

“This collaboration between Florida and JAXA demonstrates the strength of our respective space ecosystems and our mutual commitment to leading the charge and furthering innovation in the commercial space industry,” the governor said. “Florida is solidifying our dominance as the global hub for aerospace and the premier gateway to space.”

JAXA and Space Florida have begun discussions and collaboration “to pave the way for additional joint projects, information exchange, and commercial space activities,” the governor’s office said. They hope to boost aerospace industry growth and create new opportunities for businesses and individuals through the partnership.

The announcement comes after Japan and NASA signed a Joint Exploration Declaration of Intent in 2020 related to the International Space Station and NASA’s Artemis program. It includes “Japanese contributions to Gateway and lunar surface exploration” and “human and robotic exploration,” NASA said. Through Artemis, NASA claims it “will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 and establish sustainable lunar surface exploration with our commercial and international partners by 2028.” 

“Artemis is the next step in human exploration and is a part of NASA’s broader Moon to Mars strategy,” it added. “Specifically, NASA’s lunar operations will provide the Agency with the experience and knowledge necessary to enable a historic human mission to Mars.”

Since 2007, the total economic impact of Florida’s aerospace finance and development authority totaled $5.9 billion. Over the next five years, Space Florida’s total economic impact is expected to exceed $5.3 billion, with an average annual impact of $1.1 billion, according to Space Florida’s most recent economic impact report. Part of the economic impact includes $2.8 billion in GDP throughout Florida, $1.7 billion in household income and $548 million in federal, state, and local fiscal revenues.

Japan established a goal of sending Japanese astronauts to the moon by the late 2020s, Reuters reported, and a new Japanese company, ispace, is working with Draper, a U.S. space lab, “to bring NASA payloads to the moon, aiming to build a permanently staffed lunar colony by 2040.” The first lunar landing attempt of ispace failed on Tuesday after its Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander reportedly likely crashed on the lunar surface.

Japan is the sixth-largest foreign investor in Florida, with holdings totaling over $5.2 billion. More than 200 Japanese companies currently employ over 22,000 Floridians. Bilateral trade between Florida and Japan exceeds $6.6 billion, making Japan Florida’s second-largest bilateral merchandise trade partner in the Asia-Pacific region and Florida’s seventh-largest partner overall, according to state data.

The next stop on the Florida delegation trade mission is South Korea.