JAXA Astronaut Soichi Noguchi: "The Role of 21st Century Astronauts and the Power to Shape the Future" Part 3

"The Role of 21st Century Astronauts and the Power to Shape the Future

― Aiming to Contribute to the International Community" Session 3

JAXA Astronaut Soichi Noguchi
　

The Need for Multicultural Adaptability

As such, astronaut activities are extremely diverse, and all are global in nature. Therefore, multicultural adaptability—the ability to collaborate with stakeholders from various countries—is highly demanded as a core quality. While specialized knowledge, technical skills, and crisis management abilities are rigorously honed through training, future astronauts will increasingly need communication skills and human qualities that enable them to respond appropriately to diverse cultures and personalities.

This means the ability to carry out missions while engaging with a wide variety of individuals (personalities) – transcending not only nationality and cultural differences, but also age, generation, gender, and regional backgrounds within their own countries. This is precisely the quality required of 21st-century astronauts. Leadership styles on the ISS also vary. Some prioritize cooperation and "harmony," while others excel in a more proactive, leading role. Equally important is the ability of followers to adapt to their leader's style. In both cases, the essential requirement is the adaptability to engage with diverse personalities. This mirrors the interpersonal skills demanded in the business world. The crucial point is that, regardless of the leader or follower's style, the team must function flawlessly. As crisis management becomes a critical issue for all organizations, this perspective seems indispensable in the increasingly interdependent global society ahead.

From December 2009 for approximately five and a half months, he served as a flight engineer on the ISS as part of the long-duration crew.
In April 2010, Naoko Yamazaki and others also arrived. Mr. Noguchi is upside down in the upper center of the photo, and Ms. Yamazaki is the third person to his left.

Currently, in addition to the public relations, outreach, and international contribution activities mentioned earlier, I am also conducting research in the fields of cognitive science and psychology, examining the internal changes people experience when they go to space. This involves analyzing tweets and diaries sent from space by astronauts to investigate how self-expression and interpersonal relationships are affected during the adaptation process to space. It may come as a surprise, but this kind of research is also part of my activities as an astronaut.

Of course, I am still an active astronaut. I train daily aiming for my third flight. My personal dream is to take the Olympic torch to space for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and bring it back to the National Stadium. I intend to keep dreaming and keep challenging myself.

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