When SpaceX revealed the name of its first private passenger to fly around the moon, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Being a billionaire helps when paying for the ticket, after all. However, Maezawa appears determined to control the narrative of his trip, and he wants one thing to be very clear: It isn’t just about going to the moon, it’s about going to the moon with the woman he loves.
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The 44-year-old Maezawa is launching a search for a “life partner” to accompany him on his groundbreaking, and presumably very expensive, trip to the Moon, which is tentatively scheduled for 2023. Maezawa journey to find love will be captured in the show, “Full Moon Lovers,” which will be distributed by Abema TV, an Internet TV station in Japan.
In statement posted to the show’s application website managed by Abema TV, Maezawa writes that when he was offered to do the program, he was overcome by “embarrassment and pride” and considered refusing. However, he claims that he changed his mind when he realised that a chance like this “might not come again.”
“As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there’s one thing that I think about: Continuing to love one woman,” Maezawa said. “I want to find a ‘life partner.’ With that future partner of mine, I want to shout our love and world peace from outer space.”
The billionaire, who made his fortune by founding the online Japanese fashion retailer Zozo, does have a few requirements, however. The “Application Conditions” section of the website states that those interested in being Maezawa’s life partner must be a single woman aged 20 or over, have a bright personality, always be positive, be interested in going to space and able to prepare for the trip, want to live life to its fullest and wish for world peace.
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that Maezawa was going to be the company’s first private passenger in September. The Japanese billionaire will, along with a handful of artists, take a trip around the moon in SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy Rocket. Maezawa, an art collector, wants to artists to use the trip to create a space art project.
According to the website he launched for the project, titled “#dearMoon,” the artists could include painters, musicians, film directors or fashion designers, among others.
Although this search for a girlfriend may seem outlandish, Maezawa has become famous for these quirky and crazy ideas, which some may consider stunts. In 2019, he broke Twitter’s retweet record when he promised to give $US10,000 ($14,490) each to 100 Twitter users on the social media platform who followed and retweeted him. At that time, his post was retweeted 5.48 million times.
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Maezawa launched a similar contest on Twitter this past New Year’s, promising to give away $US9 ($13) million to 1,000 people. The billionaire said this contest was part of a social experiment to see if the money would make people happier. Unfortunately for all of us, the contest closed on Jan. 7.
The application period to be Maezawa’s life partner and go with him on his trip around the moon closes Jan. 7. Abema TV anticipates that Maezawa will make a final decision on who will be his girlfriend at the end of March. Apparently, two months is all you need to find a life partner.