Mr. Mitsutoshi Akao, former executive officer of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, who supported AI3/SOI-Asia of WIDE Project, passed away on October 11, 2023. We pray for his soulful rest in peace.

Mr. Akao was a guardian of AI3 and SOI-Asia, which we have been working on since 1995 with Suguru Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Kusumoto, Haruhito Watanabe, Achmad Husni Thamrin, Keiko Okawa, and others of the WIDE Project. We cannot thank Mr. Akao enough.

When the WIDE project was expanding its network to Southeast Asia, he took an interest in the relationship between satellites and the Internet and listened to our various requests for advice. Without Mr. Akao, the Asian satellite Internet by AI3 would not have been established, and SOI-Asia would not be what it is today.

He has accompanied us not only in the early days of AI3 and SOI-Asia but also in various developments since then. Recently, he also gave me advice as a super expert on NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) vision.

I served for a time on the board of JSAT, partly on Mr. Akao's strong recommendation. It was just at the time when the space industry was exploring the Internet. I believe that this is exactly where we are today.

I believe that the WIDE Project has always pioneered the era with private sector leaders like him. While pledging that we will continue to pioneer such a future, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Akao and offer my heartfelt condolences.

October 13, 2023
Jun Murai
Founder, WIDE Project