On December 19, 2007, during Tani's stay on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 16, he was informed by the ground team that his mother had been killed when a freight train collided with her car.
2007年12月19日、Expedition 16の要員として国際宇宙ステーションで滞在中、母が貨物列車との衝突事故で死亡したことを地上職員から知らされた。