Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday met with JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, who returned to Japan after completing a 4 1/2-month stay on the International Space Station in late July.
During the 20-minute meeting in the prime minister's office, they traded jokes about Hatoyama's "alien" nickname.
Hatoyama told Wakata, 46, who was wearing his astronaut outfit, that "you are the space alien." "I'm still an Earthling," Wakata replied. "You are the space alien, sir."
Wakata also briefed Hatoyama and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who doubles as state minister for science and technology policy, about his mission.
Hatoyama and Kan both appeared interested in going into space but were concerned about their age, he said.