The Eccentric Japanese Tycoon Who Said "Let's Go to Space" Crashed in a Car Race

Japanese Civilian with Nationality Visits International Space Station
June 1 Announcement of Moon Travel Project Suspension

Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of the Japanese online shopping mall ZOZO and known as an eccentric billionaire like Elon Musk, was involved in a car race and suffered minor injuries after a collision. On the 10th, Japanese media such as NHK and Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Maezawa’s Ferrari collided with the car in front and rolled over several times during a car race held the previous day at the complex leisure facility "Sportsland Sugo" located in Miyagi Prefecture in the northeastern part of Honshu.

Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of the Japanese online shopping mall ZOZO and known as an eccentric billionaire like Musk, was involved in a collision accident while participating in a car race and sustained minor injuries.
[Photo by Reuters· Yonhap News]

After the accident, Maezawa was transported to a hospital in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and it is known that he was not seriously injured. In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account the previous night, Maezawa stated, "I was immediately examined at the hospital after the accident, and since the injuries were minor, I returned to the hotel to rest." He added, "The brakes were damaged and did not work during the race, which caused the accident. I apologize for causing concern."

Previously, in 2021, Maezawa attracted attention by becoming the first Japanese civilian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), where he stayed for 12 days conducting various experiments. In 2018, he was also selected as the world’s first private citizen to participate in the lunar travel project led by SpaceX, the space exploration company headed by Elon Musk. The project was also expected to include South Korean K-pop group Big Bang’s T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun) and American DJ and producer Steve Aoki.

However, on the 1st, Maezawa announced via X that he was suspending the lunar travel project called "dearMoon." He said, "When I signed the contract in 2018, I planned to go to the moon by 2023, but even now, I have no idea when I will be able to fly (to the moon)." The large spacecraft "Starship," developed by SpaceX for lunar and Mars exploration, failed in all three test flights conducted by March this year, but on the fourth attempt on the 6th (local time), it successfully orbited the Earth and returned safely.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.