Tsuneo Watanabe, the representative director and editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, died on Thursday at a hospital in Tokyo, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. Watanabe, who was 98, had pneumonia, the daily said.
Watanabe was an influential figure in both the political and professional sports arenas.
A funeral will be held with only close family members in attendance, the paper said.
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