Later, he contacted SpaceX, which was getting closer to launching its Falcon Heavy rocket, capable of sending missions to the moon. Last year, SpaceX announced that it was in discussions with two people for an around-the-moon trip that would take place in late 2018. On Monday, Mr. Musk said that Mr. Maezawa was one of those people.

However, SpaceX decided not to undertake the expense and effort needed to ensure that the Falcon Heavy was safe enough to carry humans, and the tourist trip was deferred.

Discussions then moved to using the B.F.R. for the moon trip, even if that meant waiting five years. Mr. Maezawa said he was willing to wait longer, as long as he was still the first private person to get to the moon.

Mr. Maezawa, 42, who may be best known in the United States for his purchase in 2017 of a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $110 million, said he did not like to be alone and so he would invite five to eight artists and performers to accompany him, part of a project he called Dear Moon.

Mr. Maezawa also said that art contributed to his ultimate hope of world peace. “Art makes people smile, brings people together.”

He added that he looked forward to seeing the works of art that would be inspired by the trip and wondered what masterpieces Basquiat, who died in 1988, might have created.

When asked whether a trip around the moon was the most beneficial way to spend his fortune, Mr. Maezawa acknowledged the philanthropic efforts of other entrepreneurs, but said, through a translator, “I want to contribute to society in a different way.”