TOKYO -- Japan looks to offer companies free access to troves of satellite images starting in fiscal 2018, aiming to help with tasks such as inspecting infrastructure remotely and forecasting crop harvests.
The move will be announced Friday in a report on usage of the data from an expert panel including members of the nation's economic and science ministries, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology -- known as AIST -- as well as information technology businesses and university research bodies.
