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The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was launched in 1997, and the observations continued for more than 17 years. The features of TRMM observation were as follows: (a) it followed a non-sun synchronized orbit that enabled the diurnal variation of precipitation to be investigated; (b) it carried a precipitation radar and microwave and infrared radiometers, along with two instruments of opportunity in the form of a lighting sensor and a radiation budget sensor; and (c) it worked as a standard reference for precipitation measurements for other spaceborne microwave radiometers, which enabled global rain maps to be developed. For science, TRMM provided precise and accurate rain distributions over tropical and subtropical regions. The rainfall results are primarily essential for the study of precipitation climatologies, whereas the three-dimensional images of precipitation systems enabled the study of the global characteristics of precipitation systems. Technologically, the spaceborne rain radar onboard TRMM demonstrated the effectiveness of radars in space, whereas the combination with other rain observation instruments showed its effectiveness as a calibration source. Multi-satellite rain maps in which TRMM was the reference standard have been developed, and they became prototypes of the multi-satellite Earth observation systems. On the basis of the great success of TRMM, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) was designed to expand TRMM's coverage to higher latitudes. The core satellite of GPM is equipped with a dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) and a microwave radiometer. DPR comprises a Kuband radar (KuPR) and a Ka-band radar (KaPR) and can discriminate solid from liquid precipitation. The period of the precipitation measurement with spaceborne radars extended to more than 23 years, which may make it possible to detect the change of precipitation climatology related to change in the global environment. Although TRMM's and GPM's accomplishments are very broad, this paper attempts to highlight Japan's contributions to the science of these missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]