"It's a serious social experiment," said Maezawa on YouTube, adding he hopes to attract interest from academics and economists.
Here's the tweet that he shared:
🎍謹賀新年🎍
— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) 前澤友作 (@yousuck2020) December 31, 2019
【総額10億円】#前澤お年玉 100万円を1000人にプレゼントします！
100万円で皆さまの人生がよりハッピーになりますように。
応募方法は僕のフォローとこのツイートのリツイート。締切は1月7日23:59まで。
企画趣旨や当選条件などはYouTubeで説明してます。 https://t.co/kBgwwmJoaP pic.twitter.com/1Fr0Vq4i6Z
Maezawa, who is to be the first private passenger to fly around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX, is known for his high spending on art and sports cars but also has a predilection for musing on ideas like a world without money.
He tied the giveaway to the idea of basic income, or the theory of providing a periodic no-strings-attached payment to all citizens, that has gained traction in some political circles and is backed by Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
"Basic means a regular minimum amount offering a sense of security, what Maezawa is offering is totally different," said Toshihiro Nagahama, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
Maezawa said that given that he "has the money and free time" to make the payments, he felt the need to try and inspire greater debate over the merits of the theory in Japan.
The idea of a universal basic income has gained support over fears technology such as artificial intelligence will wipe out large numbers of jobs but that concern is for now less pronounced in Japan with its tight labour market, said Nagahama.
Maezawa, who recently grabbed headlines after his split from actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki, has gathered almost 7 million followers on Twitter with his mix of displays of conspicuous consumption and folksy pronouncements on the meaning of life.
