This film was the first Japanese science fiction film which had the original Japanese cast and crew listed on the posters and other advertising material in the United States.
The exterior of the "Science Center" was actually Japan's National Sports Center that was built for the upcoming Tokyo Olympiad. The structure was new and had a slightly futuristic look.
In the movie, a reference is made to the "Sea of Rains". This is the Mare Imbrium, the second-largest "sea" on the moon, and one of the largest impact craters in the solar system. In the "Man in the Moon" image of Western folklore, Mare Imbrium forms the man's right eye.
In the final battle sequence that takes place over Tokyo, one of the landmarks destroyed by the mother ship was Tokyo's huge Cinerama theatre.
For a number of years the U.S. distributor, Columbia Pictures, had been unable to furnish 35mm release prints for theatrical showings. This was apparently due to all of the Eastman Color release prints fading to red. This film was not released on home video in the United States until 2009.
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