Report request: I am a writer for the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, which is a trade press journal serving the aerospace industry.  We will be running a series of articles over the next several months about reducing the hazards of orbital debris (including, for example, satellites that are no longer controllable, old rocket parts, and shrapnel from accidental or intentional collisions).
I need to find information about the plans of the Japanese firm JSAT to use space-based lasers to clean up orbital debris.  Information about the design of the technology, plans for its use, and business considerations such as market size and capital requirements are all of interest.  I am specifically interested in JSAT's plans involving orbital debris cleanup, so information about other uses of space-based lasers are not of interest. 

Assessment questions and gold answers:
question_text: How many pieces of "larger" space debris are circling the Earth?
gold_answers: 34,000
question_text: By "larger" what size is indicated?
gold_answers: approximately 4 inches
10 cm
question_text: To whom or what does space debris present a danger?
gold_answers: Working satellites
question_text: To whom does space debris present a danger?
gold_answers: Manned missions in Earth orbit
question_text: To whom does space debris present a danger?
gold_answers: Populations on the ground
question_text: What would a laser do in the Jaxa, JSAT, and RIKEN plan?
gold_answers: Melt small space debris
question_text: What would happen to the melted space debris?
gold_answers: Send into a lower orbit
question_text: What would happen to the melted space debris?
gold_answers: Re-enter Earth's atmosphere
question_text: What would happen to the melted space debris?
gold_answers: Burn up on re-entry
question_text: When is the laser expected to be operational?
gold_answers: Three years
question_text: What company is JAXA discussing other plans besides lasers to remove space debris?
gold_answers: Astroscale