There’s been some excitement among Japanese space enthusiasts in regards to Japanese manned space exploration. The spread of excitement and hype could possibly be tied with spike in popularity over a recent manga, Uchuu Kyoudai, or “Space Brothers” (宇宙兄弟). Set in the near future, the manga focuses on two brothers’ struggle to becoming astronauts and fulfilling their dream of going to the moon together.
Hibito, on the left, has become the first Japanese to land on the moon, while his older brother, Mutta, chases after to becoming an astronaut himself.
Space Brothers won some notable manga awards, and has recently been turned into a live-action film and an anime series— so it’s definitely increased the attention on Japan’s role in space exploration, which is mainly guided by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Photo by Kirt Cathy.
But a manga alone isn’t the only thing increasing attention over Japan’s role in space exploration— or specifically, Japan’s leadership role in space!
Coming this March, the International Space Station (ISS) will have its first Japanese astronaut as the commander of the ship!
But before we get into this future head honcho, I asked myself, who was the first Japanese man in space? Who was the first Japanese woman? Who was the first Japanese to spacewalk? I thought it’d be interesting to touch upon some of the “firsts” in space for Japanese people and see some of their awesome, out of this world (literally) accomplishments.
First Japanese Man- or Men- in Space?
So I think it’s a given that we should identify who the first Japanese person was to go to space.
Except I have come to the realization that this is kind of hard to determine.
It really depends on how you define “first” and if you consider Japanese ethnicity or citizenship.
If you want to know who the first person of Japanese ethnicity (regardless of citizenship) to fly to space, then it would probably be Great Astronaut Onizuka Ellison Shoji Onizuka, a NASA astronaut and the first Japanese American (and the first Asian American) to reach space.
Photo by NASA
Onizuka went to space for the first time on space shuttle Discovery’s mission STS-51C in 1985. But most remember him as being part of the crew of space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 that killed Onizuka and six other astronauts shortly after launch.
A tribute monument for Onizuka in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Photo credit Sam Howzit
But if you want to know who the first Japanese person with Japanese citizenship to reach space was, then it would be Akiyama Toyohiro.
BUT HE WASN’T AN ASTRONAUT.
Photo credit famille.sebile
Toyohiro was actually a journalist who was working under Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) when he was chosen in 1989 to train for a commercial flight to the Mir space station, which was maintained by the Soviet Union at the time. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Soviets claim to have received 14 million dollars for his flight, and TBS is expected to have spent about 20 million dollars for Toyohiro to fly and report about life in outer space for 8 days. That’s a really expensive first commercial spaceflight!
I actually had no idea that a journalist was the first person of Japanese citizenship to reach space— but as a space enthusiast myself, it kind of gives me hope that someday, I too, will maybe be able to go to space…
Okay, so Who’s the First Astronaut of Japanese Citizenship to Reach Space?
Growing up in Japan, I remember constantly hearing this guy’s name as the first Japanese astronaut— so I guess it was natural that I didn’t really know who the aforementioned journalist was.
Photo by McGill Research and International Relations
Mamoru Mohri was a Japanese astronaut selected by Japan’s National Space Development Agency (NASDA, before it was renamed to JAXA) in 1985. He was eventually chosen as the first Japanese national astronaut to board space shuttle Endeavor’s mission in 1992. Growing up, I remember everyone referring to him fondly as Mohri-san, the first to represent Japan in outer space. Because of US and Russia’s clear dominance in space exploration, Mohri-san boarding the Endeavor was considered to be a big honor and a step for Japan to continue building their influence in space exploration.
Mohri-san influences Hibito and Mutta in their dream to becoming astronauts.
Mohri-san can even be found in the aforementioned anime Space Brothers as a critical role in influencing the two protagonist to become astronauts. Mohri-san continues to be revered to this day by many Japanese, old and young.
First Japanese Woman in Space
So we’ve exhausted our debate on who the first Japanese male in space was. What about female?
Photo by NASA
Chiaki Mukai, or Dr. Chiaki Mukai, was the first Japanese female to go to space. Before becoming an astronaut, she worked as a cardiovascular surgeon. In 1985 she was selected by NASDA as an astronaut along with Mohri-san, and flew off to space in 1994 on space shuttle Columbia.
Seeing as female astronauts was not as common back then (let alone a Japanese one), Mukai may have inspired many Japanese women to take on the dream of becoming astronauts themselves, or getting involved in science-related fields. Her life as an astronaut has been made into a drama as well, and along with Mohri-san, she continues to be respected by many Japanese.
First Japanese to Spacewalk
Space walks are the trippiest things ever. I mean, just the thought of being flown to space gives me the chills (in a good way), but, being outside? Exposed to space? Now that must be an experience.
So who was the lucky Japanese guy that got to be the first space walker? His name is Takao Doi, and while he no longer is an active astronaut with JAXA, he continues to work in space-related fields.
Photo by Giving to Rice University
Doi was chosen as an astronaut by NASDA in 1985, along with Mohri-san and Dr. Mukai. I guess 1985 was a big year for NASDA, having chosen some of the earliest Japanese astronauts. Doi flew to space on space shuttle Columbia in 1997 and conducted Extravehicular Activities (EVA), dubbed by many as “space walks”. Through two space walks he logged close to 13 hours in outer space, and became the first Japanese to do so.
Doi-san is all smiles in outer space.
Doi, no longer an active astronaut, began working at his appointment in 2009 at the United Nations’ Office of Outer State Affairs (UNOOSA).
And last but most relevant to current news…
First Japanese Commander of the International Space Station (ISS)
First Japanese man (or men) in space, first women, first space walk… Japanese astronauts have come quite far in manned space exploration, and Japan will finally have their own astronaut, Koichi Wakata, be the first commander of the International Space Station (ISS) this March— and he’s in space right now as I write this!
Astronaut Wakata as he boarded the Soyuz rocket in November, along with the Sochi Olympic torch.
Wakata, chosen by NASDA in 1992 as an astronaut candidate, flew to space for the first time in 1996 on board space shuttle Endeavor. He’s flown to space quite a lot and has been on four space shuttle missions. He’s quite the veteran, getting the job done up in space, but he’s recently been known to have created some fun light painting photos in zero-gravity, which he tweeted.
He’s been hailed by Japanese space enthusiasts as stepping up the leadership role for Japan in space exploration. I suppose you could say he’s going through a bit of celebrity-phase right now— the guy has his own biographical manga now for kids that aspire to become astronauts like himself.
There’s Much More…
These astronauts are very famous and well-regarded as paving a way for some of the “firsts” in space for Japan, but they’re certainly not the only ones contributing to space exploration. JAXA recently selected three new astronauts, two of which have already been assigned on a mission in the near future. I’m positive that in the future, we’ll see these currently active astronauts continue to represent Japan and make some remarkable accomplishments of their own!
Everybody wave!
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Bonus Wallpapers!
