Mitsubishi Electric has been active as a parts supplier for overseas satellite projects and as a prime contractor for government-sponsored projects in Japan. But this is the first time it has won an order for a commercial communications satellite in Japan.
The commercial satellite market is dominated by cost-competitive US giants such as Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp.
Mitsubishi Electric, Japan's fifth-largest electronics conglomerate whose products range from flat-panel TVs to vacuum cleaners, declined to comment on the size of the order.