Japan billionaire cancels hunt for lunar love

Tokyo : A Japanese billionaire who launched a public search for a girlfriend willing to join him on a trip into space abruptly cancelled the hunt on Thursday, despite attracting nearly 30,000 applicants.

Yusaku Maezawa earlier this month said he was looking for a mate willing to join him when he heads on a trip around the Moon in 2023 or later, as the first private passenger on a voyage offered by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

His search for a soulmate was due to be turned into a TV show for a web-streaming service. But on Thursday Maezawa dashed the hopes of thousands, citing "personal reasons."

"Despite my genuine and honest determination toward the show, there was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation," he wrote, in English, on his Twitter account.