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Japanese Billionaire Cancels Space Flight Matchmaking TV Show

Japanese Billionaire Cancels Space Flight Matchmaking TV Show

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is no longer looking for love by the light of the moon.

Citing personal reasons, the first paying passenger on SpaceX’s 2023 maiden tourist voyage to outer space has asked producer AbemaTV to no longer participate in the matchmaking documentary announced earlier this month.

Japanese Billionaire Cancels Space Flight Matchmaking TV Show

Dubbed the “Dear Moon” project, the founder of online fashion shopping site Zozo Inc. is set to orbit around the moon in the Big Falcon Rocket, also known as the BFR.

In an apology to more than 27,000 women that applied to be featured on the program, Maezawa said he felt “extremely remorseful to conclude” the show. “Despite my genuine and honest determination toward the show, there was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation,“ the Japanese billionaire said in a series of Twitter posts.

The plan was to find the love of his life, fly to the moon on Elon Musk’s rocket, and film it all for a documentary to be called “Full Moon Lovers.”

A questionnaire to determine one’s compatibility with Maezawa titled, “Love diagnostic test” included eccentric questions such as, “If Yusaku farted in front of you, what would be your response?”

A separate website AbemaTV set up for Maezawa’s upcoming show is no longer available online.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Niluksi Koswanage at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net, Derek Wallbank, Michael Sin

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.