In the evening, Prime Minister Naoto Kan conversed with Dr. Satoshi Furukawa, an astronaut assigned to the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" of the International Space Station (ISS), at the Prime Minister's Office.

Astronaut Furukawa is expected to conduct an approximately five-and-a-half-month mission on the ISS as a flight engineer aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-02M space ship launched in June. His tasks include carrying out scientific experiments in the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" and operating and maintaining the ISS. 

Together with Mr. Soichi Noguchi, an astronaut who served as a moderator, and students from Fukushima University Junior High School, Iwate Prefecture Oshu City Esashi Daiichi Junior High School, Miyagi Prefecture Tohoku Gakuin High School, Miyagi Prefecture Izumi Tateyama High School, Fukushima University Elementary School, and Iwate Prefecture Oshu City Natsuta Elementary School, Prime Minister Kan conversed with Astronaut Furukawa for approximately 20 minutes.