ASICS Corporation chairman Kihachiro Onitsuka died on Saturday, September 29 of heart failure in a hospital in Kobe, Japan. He was 89. Mr. Onitsuka was born on May 29, 1918, in Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. In 1949, he started Onitsuka Co. Ltd., the first sports shoe company in Japan. In 1977, ASICS Corporation was formed through a merger of Onitsuka Co. Ltd, G.T.O. Co., an equipment manufacturer, and Jelenk Co., a sports apparel manufacturer. Mr. Onitsuka became the president and aimed to diversify the business to be more competitive in the global sporting goods market. In 1992, he became chairman of ASICS Corporation, a position he held until his death. Over the years, Mr. Onitsuka also held a number of public offices. He served as president of the Japan Basketball Association and was named lifetime honorary president of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.
