Producer Takamasa Sakurai passed away early morning on Friday, in Japan. He was aged 49.
According to police, Takamasa Sakurai was at Nishi-Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo at around 12:30 a.m., when he accidentally stepped off the platform and fell onto the rail track, and the oncoming train caught his leg. He was rushed to the hospital, but was proclaimed dead on arrival. Sakurai lived in the nearby Higashi-Nippori neighborhood.
An eyewitness on the platform purportedly saw Sakurai intoxicated as he fell onto the tracks. The police are currently investigating the incident.
Takamasa Sakurai was a producer, writer, journalist, and research professor at Digital Hollywood University. He had been involved in multiple events as a cultural spokesman, having traveled through 140 countries around the world. He had been called upon as an expert on committees by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and produced its “Kawaii Amabassador” project, which elected three girls to lecture on fashion and Japanese culture in events in 2009. He served as the executive office director for The International Otaku Expo Association (IOEA). He had written books such as Sekai Kawaii Kakumei (World Cute Revolution), and Anime Bunka Gaiko (Anime Cultural Diplomacy).
Otakon has hosted Sakurai as a guest of honor multiple times. He most recently ran a panel at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore on November 28, where he discussed the popularity of Japanese idols and idol culture around the world.
It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of Takamasa Sakurai. https://t.co/NQKycPbScD
— Otakon (@Otakon) December 4, 2015
It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of Takamasa Sakurai, a good friend to our membership. https://t.co/3N7uJanciD
— Otakon (@Otakon) December 4, 2015
The IOEA expressed its condolences in a Twitter post on Friday:
IOEA Executive Office director Takamasa Sakurai passed away on Dec.4th. A friend & global promoter of Jpn pop culture, we will miss him.
— IOEA Official (@IOEAOfficial) December 4, 2015
Source: NHK News Web, ANN
