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Toyohiro Akiyama | |
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| 秋山豊寛 | |
 Toyohiro Akiyama in 1990 | |
| Born | (1942-06-22)22 June 1942 (age 83) Tokyo, Japan |
| Status | Retired |
| Other names | Space journalist[1][2] Space antihero[3] |
| Alma mater | International Christian University (BS, 1966?) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist (TBS), professor atKyoto University of Art and Design |
| Awards |  Order of Friendship of Peoples_ribbon.svg) Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" |
| Space career | |
| TBSResearch Cosmonaut | |
Time in space | 7d 21h 54min 40sec |
| Selection | Soyuz TM-11 mission |
| Missions | Soyuz TM-11 /Soyuz TM-10 |
Mission insignia |  |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
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Toyohiro Akiyama (秋山 豊寛,Akiyama Toyohiro; born 22 July 1942) is a retired Japanese TVjournalist and professor atKyoto University of Art and Design. In December 1990, he spent seven days aboard theMir space station.[4] He became the first person ofJapanese nationality to fly in space,[5] and his space mission was the second spaceflight to be commercially sponsored and funded.[4] Akiyama was also the first civilian to fly aboard a commercial space flight and the first journalist to report from outer space.[1][2]
Akiyama attended and earned hisbachelor's degree at theInternational Christian University located inMitaka, Tokyo. He then joined theTokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) as a journalist in 1966. He worked for theBBC World Service from 1967–1971 before becoming a correspondent for the TBS Division of Foreign News. From 1984 to 1988, he served as TBS chief correspondent inWashington D.C.[4][5]
On 17 August 1989, Akiyama was selected for a commercial Soviet-Japanese flight. The flight was sponsored by the TBS Corporation to celebrate its fortieth anniversary.[6] The amount that the corporation paid for the flight of its employee differs significantly from one source to another (US$28 million,[7] US$25 million,[8] 5 billion yen or US$37 million[9]). Akiyama started training at theYuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in October 1989.[citation needed]
TBS wanted to send the first Japanese person to space in order to boost their TV ratings.[3] 163 TBS employees applied for the opportunity to fly to space. Eventually, Akiyama and camerawoman Ryoko Kikuchi were selected as the two final candidates. When Kikuchi developed a case ofappendicitis a week before launch, Akiyama was selected for cosmonaut training and he was the primary crew member, with no backup in place.[2] Akiyama began cosmonaut training in August 1989 in a deal between TBS and theSoviet Union.[4] The commercialization of space flight was evident by theSoyuz TM-11 covered with advertising of TBS and other Japanese companies.[10]
Akiyama's mission marked the first flight of a person of Japanese nationality in space as well as the first commercially sponsored and funded spaceflight of an individual in history.[4][5][11] Akiyama also became the first journalist to give live reports from space.[2] After successfully completing aResearch Cosmonaut training course at theYuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in present-day Russia, Akiyama launched aboard theSoyuz TM-11 mission to the Mir space station on 2 December 1990 along with mission commanderViktor Afanasyev and flight engineerMusa Manarov.
Akiyama was not a trained astronaut, scientist nor engineer.[3] During his time aboard Mir, Akiyama gave live reports each day documenting life aboard the station, but his apparent discomfort led to him being described as the first "antihero in space".[3] He described his struggles such asspace sickness and craving for cigarettes:[3] During training, he quit smoking cigarettes, having previously smoked four packs a day. Before liftoff, when asked what he looked forward to most upon his return to Earth, he said "I can't wait to have a smoke".[10] His fellow cosmonauts later reported, in regards to hisnausea, that they "hadn't ever seen a man vomit that much."[12]
Initially, the TBS TV viewership was high, but by midweek, it declined to slightly above normal.[3] Various reports have cited a flight cost paid by TBS as betweenUS$12 million andUS$37 million. The company reportedly lostUS$7.4 million on the deal.[2][13][14] Akiyama eventually returned to Earth just over a week later aboardSoyuz TM-10 along withGennadi Manakov andGennadi Strekalov on 10 December. While onboard the space station, Akiyama made nightly live broadcasts.[3]
Akiyama returned to TBS after completing his spaceflight and became deputy director of the TBS News Division. He retired from TBS in 1995, because he disagreed with the active commercialization of television.[4][5]
In April 1991, he shot a film, with a group of Japanese journalists, about the state of theAral Sea inKazakhstan.[15]
From January 1996, he engaged in organic farming with rice and mushrooms in theAbukuma mountains in the townTakine, nearTamura, Fukushima,Fukushima Prefecture.[16][17] He also wrote books and gave lectures focusing on environmental issues.[17] In March 2011, he was personally affected by theFukushima disaster and was forced to abandon his farm.[18]
On 1 November 2011, he became a professor of agriculture at the Faculty of Arts,Kyoto University of Art and Design.[17][19]
Akiyama was married to Kyoko Akiyama, and the couple had a son and a daughter.[3] He left his family in Tokyo to go farm.[19] They divorced in 1995.
Akiyama received multiple awards and decorations, including:[17]
He made reports inJapanese, which were published later, dedicated to his space flight. He also co-authored articles on the development of space tourism and farming.[23]
1990年 ソ連人民友好章 (1990, Soviet - Order of Friendship of Peoples)、1991年 東京都民文化栄誉章 (1991, Tokyo Metropolitan Cultural Honor)、2000年 日本宇宙生物科学会功績賞 (2000, Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space Achievement Award)。
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