Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa Retires From JAXA, Says Ready to ‘Take On New Challenges’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, March 31, 2026

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa is retiring from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) effective Tuesday, vowing to take on new challenges.

“I’ve given it my all. Now I’m ‘graduating’ from JAXA to take on new challenges,” Furukawa said Monday at a press conference in Tokyo. He plans to utilize his experience as a medical doctor who spent time in space to develop human resources at Kyorin University School of Medicine, where he will teach as a specially appointed professor.

Himself a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Medicine, Furukawa initially worked as a physician. He had wanted to be an astronaut since his childhood and was selected as a candidate in 1999 by the National Space Development Agency (now JAXA).

Furukawa had two long-term stays at the International Space Station (ISS) in 2011 and 2023–2024, for a total of 366 days in space, the second most among Japanese astronauts.

On the ISS, Furukawa was assigned to provide emergency medical treatment in coordination with doctors on Earth if ISS crew became sick or injured. He was also involved in a project to develop 3D organ culturing technology utilizing a microgravity environment.

While acknowledging that he would distance himself from aerospace industry after retirement, Furukawa said, “As a space enthusiast, I want to express my support for the moment when a Japanese astronaut will land on the moon.”