Japanese billionaire Maezawa: Earth is 100x more beautiful than in pictures

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa who returned to Earth last month after a 12-day journey into space holds a news conference in Tokyo.

Maezawa became the first space tourist on the International Space Station in over a decade, preparation for a more ambitious trip around the moon with Elon Musk’s SpaceX planned for 2023.

“When you go into space, you become obsessed with the Earth,” he told reporters on Friday. “You’re grateful that it has wind, that it has smells, that it has seasons.”

“At the time of the launch I was able to enjoy the experience,” he said. “I felt as if it was the start of a Shinkansen (bullet) train from the station, it was so smooth. I only realised (the launch) when I looked out the window.”

Gazing at the Earth from space gave him other ideas. He says Earth was “100 times more beautiful than photographs.”

“You begin to think about world leaders getting together in space,” he said. “Of course, I’m not a powerful enough person to make it happen. But if it did, the world might be a better place to live.”

In 2019, he sold his online fashion company Zozo to SoftBank, and next year he will be the first private passenger on a SpaceX moon journey.