ZCZC
BFF-13
JAPAN-SPACE-INTERNET-OFFBEAT
Girlfriend to fly to the Moon with Japanese billionaire
TOKYO, Jan 13, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Japanese billionaire has launched an
online wanted ad for a girlfriend who will fly around the Moon with him on a
SpaceX rocket.
Yusaku Maezawa, who recently announced his break-up with a Japanese
actress, is accepting applications from “single women aged 20 or over” who
want to enjoy life to the fullest.
The matchmaking exercise is being turned into a TV show for a web
streaming service.
The flamboyant entrepreneur said he agreed to the idea due to loneliness
in middle age.
“I have lived exactly as I’ve wanted to until now,” said Maezawa, who has
three children with two women.
“I’m 44 now. 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,”
he said in the ad.
Maezawa has also made a pitch on his Twitter account, saying: “Why not be
the ‘first woman’ to travel to the moon?”
The deadline to apply is January 17, 2020. He will make a final selection
by the end of March after going on dates with the applicants.
Maezawa, formerly chief of online fashion company Zozo, which he sold to
Yahoo! Japan last year, is known for buying pricey art.
He is scheduled to make a lunar trip in 2023 or later as the first private
passenger on a voyage by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Maezawa also plans to take about half a dozen artists with him on the
trip, which will take them around the Moon without landing on it.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1054 hrs