Asian Tech Press (Nov 19) -- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced Friday that it will begin recruiting astronauts on Dec. 20 to participate in its international program to explore the moon, Kyodo News reported.

This is JAXA's first recruitment in 13 years, the report said. Compared to the last recruitment in 2008, the agency removed the educational requirement and no longer requires applicants to have a four-year university degree in the field of natural science.

According to the report, JAXA currently has seven astronauts with an average age of 52 years old. At this rate, as personnel retire, etc., it will only have two members by 2030, when lunar explorations are active.

Qualified applicants will join JAXA for training in April 2023 and be identified as astronauts around March 2025.