World’s first journalist-astronaut Toyohiro Akiyama dies in Japan
Toyohiro Akiyama, who flew to the Mir space station in 1990, has died. The death of the former colleague was announced by Hideya Sugio, a member of the Upper House of the Japanese Parliament.
Tunzale Melikova1 min read
Toyohiro Akiyama, the first Japanese citizen to fly into space and the world's first professional journalist to reach orbit, has died in Japan at the age of 85. The news of Akiyama's passing was confirmed by his former colleague at the TBS television channel, Hideya Sugio, a member of the Upper House of the Japanese Parliament.
Akiyama's space mission took place in 1990. At the time, he was working as a journalist for TBS, which initiated the first Soviet-Japanese space flight. As part of this expedition, Akiyama joined the crew of the Soviet Mir space station.
During his time in orbit, Akiyama conducted live broadcasts for television viewers and held remote lessons for schoolchildren.
Source: news.milli.az
