TOKYO -- From a young age, Naoko Yamazaki was fascinated by space. She grew up watching anime about intergalactic adventures and would often go to the local planetarium with her brother. So it was perhaps no surprise that she would go on to become only the second Japanese woman ever to go into space -- taking part in a mission to the International Space Station in 2010.
In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, Yamazaki discussed everything from Asia's role in the space race to when living on other planets will become a reality -- even what the recent wave of protectionism sweeping through global politics means for space exploration.