In his first media conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo on Friday since his return to Earth, Japanese tycoon Yusaku Maezawa shared his experiences as the first space tourist in more than 10 years.
During his out-of-this-world experience, Maezawa, one of Japan's flamboyant personalities, took videos of himself fascinated about the weightlessness inside the spaceship, which he shared with his millions of followers on social media.
Maezawa, however, shared that living in space made gave him a deeper appreciation of simple things on earth that many tend to overlook: the seasons, the wind, smells, and sushi.
The journey launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 8 along and landed back to Earth on December 20th at the landing site 93 miles southeast of Zhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan, in sub-zero temperatures, as per Reuters.
After fulfilling one of his greatest dreams in life, he now dreams that world leaders could make the same trip he had one day as Maezawa wants them to witness the beauty of Earth from outer space, which he described as "100 times more beautiful" than any picture he had ever viewed. He wants them to realize the value of working together.
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Space Enthusiast
The 46-year old fashion magnate and art enthusiast became the first space tourist on December 8 to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) in more than 10 years. He was accompanied by his assistant Yoro Hirano and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of Russia.
【NO MERCY】Playing Ping Pong in Spacehttps://t.co/OldGa8YiNI @YouTube pic.twitter.com/Sy2n4ooO13
— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) January 7, 2022
Maezawa was once a member of a rock band before starting an online fashion business in 1998. Now he heads fashion company Start Today, which is gearing up towards investing in different businesses that may evolve from the ongoing studies by NASA, Japanese national aerospace and space agency JAXA, and other science and technology organizations according to ABC.
Private Passenger To 2023 Moon Trip
Maezawa's 12-day space journey to the International Space Station served as a practice run for his next trip to the moon with Elon Musk's Space X in 2023, where he is set to become the first private passenger to the moon. The trip is envisioned to usher in a new age of space travel that is expected to attract wealthy people.
The Japanese businessman is also an influential social media personality followed by more than 11 million Twitter users for his free-wheeling managerial style. Something that is rare in Japan's traditionalist business community.
Maezawa has been both admired and ridiculed by the public for his extravagant purchases of various stuff including artworks by renowned artists.
In 2019, Maezawa decided to resign as CEO of e-commerce company Zozo Inc. as he wanted to focus more of his time on space travel, selling his business to Yahoo Japan. Currently, his net worth is estimated at $1.9 billion according to Forbes.
The exact amount Maezawa has paid for his space adventure has not been disclosed yet and continues to be a topic of skepticism and speculation. Reports estimate the price of the trip at $80 million.
