Takeji Watanabe, an adviser and former president of Kyodo News, died of old age at his home in Tokyo on Saturday, his family said. He was 91.
Watanabe joined Rengo News Service in 1926. After Rengo was disbanded and became the state-backed Domei News Agency, he worked at Domei's central China and Manila bureaus.
Domei was split into Kyodo News and Jiji Press in 1945, after World War II.
At Kyodo, Watanabe assumed such posts as chief editor of the Economic News Section, Washington bureau chief and New York bureau chief.
He also served as managing editor of the News Department before becoming president in 1978.