| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
| ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Chiaki Mukai, Astronaut, Japan (int'l edition) WITH TWO TRIPS INTO SPACE, Chiaki Mukai is Japan's most traveled astronaut. Her last mission was on the space shuttle Discovery, researching weightlessness with veteran U.S. astronaut and Senator John Glenn. In the tests, she found it easy to do somersaults, but had trouble touching the cabin floor. ''Some things that can easily be done on Earth cannot be easily done in space,'' she says. Yet Mukai, 47, seems to be able to demonstrate the strength and dignity of Japanese women more easily among the stars than many have been able to on Earth. Her career commands respect in a nation where few working women can hope to reach executive suites, much less outer space. By pursuing her dreams, Mukai offers a glimpse into the potential of a younger generation of leaders. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi chose Mukai to serve on an advisory panel to define goals for Japan in the next century. Her greatest concern is that Japan's educational system tends to teach children by rote rather than by encouraging them to think for themselves. Mukai also sees a need to raise the spirits of Japanese people struggling with recession. ''Many people are losing themselves. They don't have something they can believe in,'' says Mukai. ''We should believe in ourselves and be more self-confident.'' Mukai's personal space odyssey began in 1983, when she read in a newspaper that the Japanese government was looking for astronauts with scientific experience. Until then, Mukai, a heart surgeon in Tokyo, thought astronauts had to be pilots, Americans, or Russians. She decided then and there to drop her scalpel and expand her horizons. ''I thought: Oh my God, now even a Japanese scientist can go into space,'' she recalls. Since her last mission, she has worked at NASA in Houston, analyzing the results of Discovery experiments. On her next flight, which she hopes will be in 2004, Mukai wants to delve deeper into the effects of weightlessness and radiation on the body. And what about women back home? ''Before men and women, we are human beings. That is common sense,'' says Mukai. ''If you want to do something, go for it.'' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
|  |
 | |
 The Stars of Asia RELATED ITEMS Chiaki Mukai, Astronaut, Japan (int'l edition) ONLINE ORIGINAL: ``Our Home Planet Is So Beautiful. It's Fragile...and Has Dignity'' (int'l editi INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
