Japan's enormously expensive space booster program suffered a major setback in 2003 when one booster suffered a malfunction that ended in the mission's failure. Today's launch was the first successful one since that disaster.
Their space program recently got a big boost in funding for two reasons: North Korea's demonstrated missile capability, and China's successful manned space program. Japan, in 180 degree turnaround, recently said they were re-examining the idea of having their own manned program.
You can read all about this launch in this brief article.
