Japan has drafted a new roadmap for its space policy that includes cooperation between the public and private sectors to develop a lunar rover.

The new draft plan says the rover would carry people on the moon's surface as part of a US lunar exploration project.

It also says Japan will conduct research to develop technology to generate solar power in space.

The draft includes launching a probe to study a Martian moon in fiscal 2024. It also includes a plan for an Air Self-Defense Force unit to start monitoring space debris and other countries' satellites in fiscal 2023.

The government's Strategic Headquarters for Space Development is scheduled to finalize the draft roadmap when it meets as early as by the end of the year.