Japanese space tourists safely return to Earth

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — A Japanese billionaire, his producer and a Russian cosmonaut have safely returned to Earth after spending 12 days on the International Space Station. Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, his producer Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin made a soft landing in a Russian Soyuz capsule in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 9:13 a.m. (0313 GMT) on Monday about 150 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan. Maezawa, 46, and his 36-year-old producer Hirano were the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009.