Japan's space agency has set a goal of constructing a manned lunar base in 2030.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed its ambition to an international conference in Tokyo this week but has not yet been allotted the budget for the ambitious project.

JAXA hopes to launch a satellite into lunar orbit next year, followed by an unmanned spacecraft that will land on the moon and a probe ship that will collect samples from the moon.

Under the plan, the astronauts will be sent to the moon by around 2020 so that they will start construction of the base to be completed by 2030.

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IF Japan really does this (money being the big issue) in contrast to this story, I expect the base to be constructed via robots, then occupied. Why not?