Watanabe Tsuneo, the representative director and editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on December 19. He was 98.

The holding company publishes major Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Watanabe was born in Tokyo in 1926.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a major in philosophy, he joined The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1950 and worked as a political news reporter.

Watanabe later served as Yomiuri's Washington bureau chief, political news section head and editorial board chairman before becoming managing editor in 1985 and president and editor-in-chief in 1991. 

He also wrote numerous books on themes such as Japanese politics.

Under his leadership, Yomiuri actively engaged in proposal reporting, including issuing draft proposals for constitutional revision in the daily three times, in 1994, 2000 and 2004.

Watanabe also assumed posts as owner of the Yomiuri Giants in Japanese professional baseball, chairman of the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association and chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.

He had close relations with people in various fields, including politicians such as former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, who passed away in November 2019.