As reported by the local media, the flamboyant former professional wrestler and politician,Antonio Inoki passed away on Saturday at the age of 79.
According to NHK, a public broadcaster, he passed away from heart failure.
Inoki, who stood at a towering 1.9 meters (about six feet three inches) in height, is widely regarded as a forefather of MMA in Japan and gained widespread attention after challenging then-world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali to a bizarre wrestler-versus-boxer match in Tokyo in 1976.
He was elected to the upper house in 1989, representing the Sports and Peace Party, which is no longer in existence.
Before the 1990 Gulf War, he went to Iraq to negotiate the safe return of Japanese hostages held there.
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Inoki was first elected to the upper house in 1993, lost his seat in 1995, and then retired from wrestling in 1998, only to return in 2013 as a member of a different opposition party.
Having a personal connection to North Korea
Having developed a close relationship with North Korea over the years, Inoki made dozens of trips there to try to negotiate an end to Pyongyangs abduction of Japanese citizens during the Cold War. He finally retired from politics in 2019.
Kanji Inoki, The Wrestlers Real Name, has stated that he hopes to contribute to world peace through sports. and had met frequently with high-ranking officials while organizing martial arts and wrestling festivals in North Korea.
Officials in Japan brushed off the visits as nothing more than a distraction.
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When reporters inquired about them, then-chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga reminded them that Tokyo had imposed a travel ban on North Koreans and urged the politician to act appropriately. .
Despite the lack of information leaking out of North Korea, Inokis trip was covered extensively by Japanese television news, and his visits continued to pique the publics interest.
Inoki, who cant be missed thanks to his massive chin and trademark tie and red scarf (even in the summer), also compelled the government to take an official position on aliens in 2017 when he tabled a question in a budgetary committee claiming to have seen a mysterious flying object disappearing over the horizon.
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