Osamu Tezuka, President and CEO of Toei Company Ltd., has died, the company announced Tuesday, according to reports. He was 62.
Yahoo! Japan News reports Tezuka had been battling an unspecified illness since June of last year. Close family members including his mother will host a private funeral. Plans for a public memorial are to be announced.
Tezuka, of no relation to the manga creator of the same name, spent his entire professional life with Toei, joining the company in 1983. He was elevated to the company's board in 2012 and named a board member in 2016. He became Toei's president in 2020.
Tezuka was born in Kisarazu City in Japan's Chiba Prefecture. He studied literature at Aoyama Gakuin University,
In his early years at Toei, he worked on dramas including the 1980s "Sukeban Deka" television series.
Survivors include his mother, Mitsuko Tezuka.
Managing director and chairman Noriyuki Tada will lead Toei until a permanent successor is named.
