Dignitaries from various fields including Princess Hisako of Takamado attended a farewell ceremony for the late media mogul Watanabe Tsuneo on February 25 at a Tokyo hotel.

Attendees included Nagashima Shigeo, lifetime honorary manager of the Yomiuri Giants professional baseball team and Oh Sadaharu, chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Watanabe, head of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper group and former owner of the Giants, died in December at age 98.

He was known by the nickname "Nabetsune."

S/ Oh Sadaharu, Chairman, SoftBank Hawks / I think he lived his life through. Now that I think about it, the only words I have for him is thank you.

S/ Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister / He had a strong sense of mission as a journalist that healthy discussions are necessary for the development of democracy.

S/ Kishida Fumio, Former Prime Minister / I remember him telling me (after my resignation announcement in August 2024) that it was very like me to make a sudden, clean break.

S/ Mitarai Fujio, Chairman, Canon / A giant star has fallen. I felt very saddened that this has finally happened. I want to ask him to watch over Japan from above.

Items related to Watanabe, who was a lifelong journalist, were displayed at the event venue.

Watanabe held positions like political news reporter and editorial board chairman at The Yomiuri Shimbun.

He went on to become managing editor in 1985 and president and editor-in-chief in 1991.