The SpaceX mission is scheduled to launch in 2023.
Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire set to become the first private passenger on a SpaceX Starship, is calling off his television quest to find a female partner to take to the moon. On Wednesday, Maezawa said he could no longer participate and asked AbemaTV to cancel the matchmaking show, known as Full Moon Lovers.
An announcement Thursday from AbemaTV on the show’s website said the program was being canceled “due to Maezawa’s personal circumstances.”
“Despite my genuine and honest determination toward the show, there was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation,” Maezawa tweeted.
Despite my genuine and honest determination toward the show, there was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation.
— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) 前澤友作 (@yousuck2020) January 30, 2020
In partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the 44-year-old Japanese entrepreneur, who founded clothing site Zozotown, announced in 2018 he would be going to the moon. As part of his mission, he bought up six to eight seats on the company’s next-generation Starship and told reporters he would be asking six to eight artists to head to lunar orbit with him.
Earlier this month, Japanese streaming service AbemaTV said it had received more than 27,000 applicants to be on the show, which it described as a “serious matchmaking documentary.” Maezawa was apparently looking for “women aged 20 or over” with a “bright personality” who are “interested in going into space,” according to the show’s website. A final decision was expected in March.
Maezawa apologized in tweets Wednesday to the applicants and staff from AbemaTV, saying that he felt “extremely remorseful” and was sorry from the bottom of his heart.