Washington wants a Japanese man to become the first person on the moon without a US passport. "Two Japanese astronauts will join future American missions," US President Joe Biden announced after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in the US capital Washington. "One of them will be the first non-American to ever land on the moon."

So far, only American astronauts have set foot on the moon; a total of twelve US astronauts flew there on the "Apollo" missions between 1969 and 1972. However, the US space agency NASA had to postpone the manned lunar orbit "Artemis 2", which was actually planned for November 2024, to September 2025, and the planned manned lunar landing "Artemis 3" to September 2026. There is competitive pressure from China, which will put people on the moon by 2030 want to bring.

US President Biden will receive Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as a state guest in Washington this week. A state banquet was scheduled for Wednesday evening.