Naoji Iwatani, founder of Iwatani International Corp. and known as the "father of propane gas" in Japan for selling the product for household use for the first time, died Tuesday at a hospital in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, the company said. He was 102.
Born in 1903 in Shimane Prefecture, Iwatani set up Iwatani Naoji Shoten to sell oxygen, carbide and welding materials.
In February 1945, the business was reorganized into Iwatani International Corp., a firm established with capital of 198,000 yen. Iwatani served as president for the next 40 years.
In 1953, when most households were still using firewood for cooking, Iwatani International launched sales of liquefied petroleum gas under the brand name Marui Propane, marking Japan's first sales of propane gas as household fuel.
Iwatani International is now the nation's largest LP gas company, with some 1,400 employees. It posted a group net profit of 4.1 billion yen on sales of 583.5 billion yen in the business year that ended March 31.