Japan will build a robotic moon base

There’s no technological reason why Japan shouldn't be able to move forward with its

ambitious plan to build a robotic lunar outpost by 2020 — built by robots, for robots. In fact, there’s really no nation better for the job in terms of technological prowess. The Institute for the Future’s Mike Liebhold says, “There are private launch vehicles that are probably capable of doing that, and I think the robotics by that point are going to be quite robust.” PopSci Predicts: Technologically possible, but economics will be the deciding factor.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43015182/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/reasons-will-be-awesome-year/#.WcQdvdVSzIU