JAXA Venture Tenchijin Receives METI Minister's Award at the 10th "Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award" Hosted by METI and Others
JAXA-certified space venture Tenchijin has received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 10th "Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award" for their development of a leakage risk assessment and management system. This system, called "Sui-do Suido Kyoku" (Space Water Bureau), utilizes satellite data and AI analysis to evaluate water pipe leakage risks, leading to significant improvements in leak detection efficiency and cost reduction for adopting municipalities.
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 07:00
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 26, 2026 at 21:27 (1382h 26m after Published)
Tenchijin Inc., a JAXA-certified space venture (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yasuto Sakuraba), is pleased to announce that it has received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 10th "Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award," jointly hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
About the Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award
The "Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award" recognizes individuals who are particularly outstanding among those involved in "monodzukuri" (manufacturing/craftsmanship), including mid-career professionals who form the core of manufacturing and production sites, skilled craftspeople who have supported traditional and cultural techniques, and young professionals who will lead the future.
This award has been held since 2005 in collaboration with METI, MLIT, MHLW, and MEXT, and this is the 10th iteration.
This time, the four ministries have decided on 8 recipients (25 individuals) for the Prime Minister's Award. In addition to the Prime Minister's Award mentioned above, METI has decided on 13 recipients (58 individuals, 1 organization) for the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award.
Quoted from: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry News Release | Decided the recipients of the Prime Minister's Award and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award for the 10th "Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award"
Award Overview
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Awarded Project Name
Development of a Leakage Risk Assessment and Management System (Space Water Bureau) Utilizing Satellite Data and AI Analysis
Project Overview
To address the social issue of aging water infrastructure, we developed the leakage risk assessment and management system "Sui-do Suido Kyoku" (Space Water Bureau), which allows easy identification of risk areas without requiring expertise in water pipes. The system evaluates the leakage risk of water pipes by analyzing surface temperature, climate, and ground data obtained from over 500 satellites held by domestic and international space agencies such as JAXA, NASA, and ESA, along with water pipe data held by water utilities, using AI. For example, adopting municipalities have achieved a 6-fold increase in leakage detection efficiency and a 79% reduction in survey costs.
Award Comment:
This time...