Japan has launched its first military communications satellite Kirameki-2 on 24 January. The manufacturer of Kirameki-2 satellite (also known as DSN-2), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, informed that the satellite was launched aboard an H-IIA rocket from Japan's Tanegashima space port and successfully entered orbit. The satellite is the first of three X-band satellites Japan plans to launch amid growing Chinese military activity in the region.