Vast Expands to Japan, Appointing Naoko Yamazaki as General Manager of Vast Japan GK

Vast today announced its official expansion into Japan with its Japanese subsidiary, Vast Japan GK, and its new office in Tokyo. This milestone marks a significant step in Vast’s mission to collaborate with allied nations on space leadership and reinforces its commitment to ensuring a continuous presence in low Earth orbit by America and its allies. Vast Japan GK will be led by Naoko Yamazaki, former JAXA astronaut. 

“It is an honor to have Yamazaki-san join our team and we are privileged to have her lead our new subsidiary in Japan,” shared Vast CEO Max Haot. “Japan’s human spaceflight heritage and market is one of the largest and most important to the future of the transition from the International Space Station (ISS) to commercial space stations. We’re honored to have the opportunity to expand Vast in Japan to further strategic relationships with Japanese partners and customers.”

“The commercial space sector is integral to advancing critical innovations for the next era of space exploration and habitation, and I am excited to join Vast to help move those advancements forward and expand the possibilities for humanity,” added Yamazaki.

After earning a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Tokyo in 1996, Yamazaki began her career at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). She was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1999, qualified as a Soyuz flight engineer in 2004, and became a NASA-certified mission specialist in 2006. In April 2010, Yamazaki flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist on STS-131, an assembly and resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). After retiring from JAXA in 2011, she served as a member of the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office of Japan from 2012 to 2022. She currently chairs the Subcommittee on Space Development and Utilization at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). 

In 2018, Yamazaki co-founded the Space Port Japan Association and has since served as its representative director, working to promote the space industry. Since 2021, she also serves as president of the Young Astronaut Club Japan to inspire future generations in addition to serving on the Council of The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020 by the Prince of Wales and The Royal Foundation. 

JP Tower, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, 14F
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-7014, Japan

For a full list of Vast facilities: https://www.vastspace.com/contact

ABOUT VAST

Founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, Vast is developing humanity’s next-generation space stations and ensuring America’s continuous human presence in space. Our roadmap begins with Haven Demo, successfully launched in November 2025, followed by Haven-1, the world’s first commercial space station scheduled to launch in 2026. Vast is also developing Haven-2, the proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS), designed to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program as a microgravity laboratory in space. Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring a spacefaring future for all.