NYT
Toyohiro Akiyama, Japan’s Chain-Smoking ‘Space Antihero,’ Dies at 84
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Toyohiro Akiyama, a Japanese journalist, died at age 84. Akiyama flew to space in 1990 aboard a Soviet spacecraft as part of a commercial arrangement valued at $35 million, becoming the first Japanese citizen to reach space. He was launched as part of a Soviet crew mission.
Original reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/world/asia/toyohiro-akiyama-dead.html