Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori, left, alongside astronaut Soichi Noguchi ©Tokyo 2020

Tokyo 2020 have announced a collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Chuya Koyama, author of the comic book Space Brothers.

Under the terms of the day, a series of experiments will be jointly staged in the International Space Station (ISS) with the assistance of JAXA astronauts Norishige Kanai and Soichi Noguchi.

This will take the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to new heights, it is claimed, while also aiming to capture the imagination of young generations.

Kanai started his "long-duration" stay in the ISS yesterday and is now expected spend approximately six months in space.

This forms part of the Tokyo 2020 One Team Project launched in August 2017, in which Japan’s leading creators, innovators and performers are being invited to "express their own interpretations" of the vision for the Tokyo 2020 Games

"Sport and space flight represent completely different fields," Kanai said before his departure.

"But in the ISS, people from different countries and with different language skills team up and work together towards a common goal, just like the athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I am really thrilled about this interdisciplinary collaboration project. 

"I think that by working together towards one goal, which is to engage people around the Tokyo 2020 Games, we can achieve a powerful outcome, even though we all come from different fields.”

Space Brothers author Chuya Koyama is also partnering with Tokyo 2020 ©YouTube
Space Brothers author Chuya Koyama is also partnering with Tokyo 2020 ©YouTube

Noguchi, who stayed in orbit for 161 days between 2009 and 2010, visited the Tokyo 2020 offices to meet with the Organising Committee President, Yoshiro Mori. 

“I will return to space in two years, so my mission will overlap with the mounting excitement for the Olympic and Paralympic Games," he said. 

"In the meantime, in the field of aerospace, the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 will return to Earth in 2020. 

"So, various projects are intersecting in the run-up to 2020. 

"As we all embrace our dreams and begin running alongside each other toward our respective goals, I think it would be wonderful if we all achieve them in 2020.”

Koyama is the author of the best-selling comic book Space Brothers, the story of two brothers working towards their dreams to go to space which was adapted into a live action film in 2012.