Antonio Inoki Died At 79:- The flamboyant Japanese wrestler turned politician Antonio Inoki died on Saturday at the age of 79, local media reported. A heart failure caused his death, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Inoki is 1.9 meters (6 feet 3 inches) tall and shot to fame in 1976 when he challenged world heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, in a zany wrestler-versus-boxer match in Tokyo. As a lawmaker for the now-defunct Sports and Peace Party, he was elected to the upper house in 1989.
Antonio Inoki Died At 79 – Japanese Politician & Former Professional Wrestler Died Due To Heart Fail
The Japanese hostages he was attempting to release from Iraq were released by him before the 1990 Gulf War. Although Inoki lost his seat in 1995 and retired from wrestling in 1998, he returned to the upper house in 2013 as a member of another opposition party.
Inoki traveled to North Korea dozens of times over the years to help resolve Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese citizens during the Cold War before he ended his political career in 2019.
During his visits to North Korea, the wrestler – who was born Kanji Inoki – often met high-ranking officials, expressing his desire to “contribute to world peace through sport.”
The trips were seen by Japanese officials as sideshows.
Asked about them, Japan’s then chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga pointed out that Tokyo had implemented a travel ban for North Korea, urging the politician to “act appropriately”.
Inoki’s trip was extensively covered by Japanese television news, and the visits continued to generate interest, despite a lack of details leaking out about life in North Korea.
He forced the government to take an official position about aliens when he tabled a question in a budgetary committee in 2017, claiming to have seen a mysterious flying object disappearing over the horizon. Inoki was unmistakable with his outsized chin, trademark tie, and red scarf — even in summer. For more information visit the Wikipedia page.
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