A Japanese billionaire is aiming for the skies after launching an online ad, wanting a girlfriend who would fly around the moon with him on a SpaceX rocket.
The 44-year-old Yusaku Maezawa said that he is doing it because of loneliness after he announced his break up with a Japanese actress recently. "I'm 44 now. As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there's one thing that I think about: Continuing to love one woman," he has said in the ad.
Maezawa's quest to find a girlfriend is being turned into a TV show for a web streaming service. "I have lived exactly as I've wanted to until now," said Maezawa, who has three children with two women.
The billionaire is now accepting applications from "single women aged 20 or over" who want to enjoy life to the fullest. He has also made a pitch on Twitter by saying, "Why not be the 'first woman' to travel to the moon?"
The deadline to apply is January 17. Maezawa will make a final selection by the end of March after going on dates with the applicants.
Formerly chief of online fashion company Zozo, that he sold to Yahoo! Japan last year, Maezawa is known for buying pricey art. He is scheduled to make a lunar trip in 2023 or later as the first private passenger on a voyage by entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Maezawa also plans to take about half a dozen artists with him on the trip, which will take them around the moon without landing on it.
