Technology and Science01 September, 20262 min read
Toyohiro Akiyama Dies At 84 After Filing Reports On Soyuz TM-11 Spaceflight
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First Japanese citizen to travel to space aboard Soyuz TM-11 in 1990. Died at 84 from lower gastrointestinal bleeding, reported August 26.
Akiyama’s death at 84
Toyohiro Akiyama, described as the first Japanese citizen to travel to space and the first journalist to file reports while on a spaceflight, died at 84 on August 26, 2026, news agencies in Japan reported. Ars Technica said Akiyama died last Wednesday, August 26, of lower gastrointestinal bleeding, and it reported that a funeral was held with his close relatives in attendance.
Ars Technica also said Akiyama was chosen out of 162 fellow employees who applied to fly to space in celebration of the network’s 40th anniversary. The Ars Technica account tied his selection to Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and said he trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, located outside of Moscow, before being assigned to the Soyuz TM-11 crew.
Mir mission and broadcasts
Ars Technica said Akiyama lifted off on December 2, 1990 with Soviet-era cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov atop a Soyuz U2 rocket, and it reported that the three crew members arrived at the Mir space station after a two-day rendezvous. During his week aboard Mir, Ars Technica reported that Akiyama recorded a 10-minute video and two 20-minute audio spots every day, with the “To the Universe” broadcasts aired on TBS.
Ars Technica quoted Akiyama describing the water surrounding Japan as “look[ing] very muddy” and suggested that only the “fat” tree frogs sent from his country enjoyed weightlessness. In a live-broadcast moment, Jiji Press said Akiyama famously asked, “Am I on air?” at the beginning of a live broadcast while staying aboard Mir.
Legacy, farming, and teaching
After leaving TBS, Ars Technica said Akiyama took up farming and it reported that he later taught at Kyoto University of Art and Design, now Kyoto University of the Arts. NHKニュース said that after leaving TBS, Akiyama took up farming in Fukushima Prefecture and, following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, he became a professor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design.
NHKニュース added that after retirement he returned to farming in Mie Prefecture, and it reported that Akiyama’s family said he died on August 26. Jiji Press said Akiyama died at his home in the central Japan town of Odai, Mie Prefecture, and it reported that he spent his later years in Odai after moving from Takine in Fukushima.