The Japanese Diet passed the Space Resources Act (the “Act”) on 15 June 2021. The Act allows Japanese private entities to explore, extract and use various space resources such as water, minerals and other natural resources existing in outer space, including on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Most significantly, the Act allows persons who conduct these activities of exploration and development of space resources to acquire ownership of the space resources that they mine or extract by their activities conducted in accordance with the plan they submitted when obtaining permission.