Koichi Wakata KYODO PHOTO

Wakata, 43, will be the first Japanese person to make a long-term stay on the space station. He will work as a flight engineer, completing the construction of a compartment to serve as Japan's first manned space laboratory, according to the agency. He will also conduct experiments in the compartment, dubbed Kibo.

"I feel quite honored," Wakata said at a news conference at the space agency's office in Houston, Texas.

"All my missions involve complex assembling work, and I want to raise Japan's manned space activity to a higher level."

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 17, 2007
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