TOKYO: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Tuesday that it has received applications from a record 4,127 people to become astronauts.

The number jumped 4.3-fold from the previous recruitment by JAXA in 2008, when 963 people applied.

JAXA is scheduled to choose by around February next year several candidates, one of whom may become the first Japanese to set foot on the moon.

Last year, the agency started recruiting astronauts for the first time in 13 years to find a Japanese space traveler to participate in an international lunar exploration project.

According to JAXA, the youngest applicant age was 17 and the oldest 73. Sixty-nine applicants were aged 60 or over.

Female applicants numbered 919, accounting for 22.3 pct of the total, a record high. The share rose from 13 pct in 2008 after JAXA lowered the minimum height of applicants to 149.5 centimeters from 158 centimeters.

In past rounds of recruitment by JAXA, applicants were required to have a university degree in the natural science field and three years of work experience.

This time, the agency eased requirements to accept applications from a wider range of people, including those with humanities degrees.

JIJI Press