"I understand that I have disappointed many people - the applicants and all the staff from AbemaTV who were involved in the production - and I apologise to everyone for my unfavorable actions. I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart," he said in a series of tweets.
"There was a part of me that still had mixed feelings about my participation."
"To think that 27,722 women with earnest intentions and courage had used their precious time to apply makes me feel extremely remorseful to conclude and inform everyone [of] this selfish decision of mine."
The tech investor paid an undisclosed amount to buy all seats on SpaceX's first tourist flight to orbit the moon when it was first announced in September 2018. With the historic voyage slated for 2023, Maezawa wanted company on the flight.
"Why not be the 'first woman' to travel to the moon?" tweeted the billionaire at the time, along with the hashtag #MZ_looking_for_love.
"As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there's one thing that I think about: Continuing to love one woman."
On his website, there was a bullet point list of desired characteristics for a potential female companion - including a "bright personality and always positive" and above all "wishes for world peace."
Now that Maezawa has decided to prefer some space in space, he still plans to make the trip in 2023 - just now without a partner as the centre of his universe.
