2 more Japanese astronauts scheduled for long missions on space station: minister

Its a real astronaut boom in Japan these days. Great inspiration for tens of millions of Japanese kids who dream of exploring space in the future!

The Japanese government must aim to have a Japanese man walk on the moon before China does.

Wakata, 57, will begin his stay on the ISS around 2022 and Furukawa, 56, around 2023, he said.

I notice that middle-aged veterans are still qualified, which I think is positive and giving a new opportunity.

I hope that Japan will be able to develop own human spaceflight to send qualified crew members to outer space and neighboring planets. It's viable for JAXA in collaboration with private enterprises (just like SpaceX).