Toyohiro Akiyama, the first Japanese citizen and journalist to travel to space, has died at age 84. His 1990 mission aboard Soyuz TM-10, funded by TBS at a reported cost of $12 million to $37 million, aimed to boost the network’s international profile but yielded only a temporary viewership increase. Akiyama spent seven days, 21 hours, and 54 minutes in orbit, becoming the 239th person to orbit Earth and 246th to cross into space.

After returning, he served as deputy director of TBS’s news division before leaving in 1995 over concerns about commercialization. He later pursued documentary work, organic farming, and teaching at Kyoto University of Art and Design until 2023. Akiyama authored books on his spaceflight and postwar life, including accounts of displacement after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

He received honors including the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples and Russia’s 'For Merit in Space Exploration' medal. He is survived by his two children, Ken and Naoko, from his marriage to Kyoko Akiyama, which ended in divorce in 1995.