Former Japan Boxing Federation President Akira Yamane’s Wife Reveals: “I Was a Man Yamane Until Death

I cried a lot when I went to the temple to lay his ashes. It was indescribably sad, but now that everything is over, I feel that I have to do my best to live.

Tomomi, the 28-year-old wife of Akira Yamane (84 years old), former president of the Japan Boxing Federation, who passed away on January 31, spoke again about her current state of mind as she reached a milestone with the laying of his ashes in early April. (All statements in parentheses are those of Ms. Tomomi.)

It was on November 29 of last year that the Chairman’s battle with cancer began. He was found to have stage 4 kidney cancer, which had metastasized to his lungs. On the way home from the diagnosis, I remember shedding tears with the Chairman at a coffee shop we stopped at together. Even so, the chairman chose anticancer drug treatment instead of palliative care in an effort to beat the disease.”

During his battle with the disease, he did not change his way of life. He kept his trademark “Borsalino” hat and sunglasses in his hospital room and greeted every visitor with a well-dressed appearance.

However, even Mr. Yamane, who had fought a hundred battles, continued to struggle against his illness. Yamane, who had never said, “I’m in pain,” even when he broke a bone in his leg, sometimes expressed weakness.

“Once, when we were alone in the hospital room, she suddenly said, ‘Mom, I’m sorry I got such a big illness. He had never apologized to me before, so it remains in my memory. We began to shed tears together in mid-January.

In the last days of her life, Tomomi’s stepdaughter, her second daughter, also came to the hospital room. She was too weak to speak, but she said, “I am so glad I am my father’s child. I’ll be your father’s child even if I’m born again,” she said. He was nursed by his family and passed away peacefully.

He was a man who was willing to overcome pain and hardship because he was a man, and he never gave up on living until just before he passed away. He was a ‘man Yamane’ right up to the end of his life.

At his farewell ceremony held in February, his eponymous hat and sunglasses were also placed in the coffin. Why did he provide FRIDAY with this “death makeup” image? Some might accuse him of blasphemy against the dead, but when we asked him why, he paused for a moment and then continued, “It’s not something I want to avoid.

When asked why, he paused for a moment and then continued, “You want to avoid seeing dead people, don’t you? It is depressing and frightening. It was the same for me. However, thanks to a mortuary preservationist I had a chance to meet, I felt as if the person was really alive, and I wanted to see them forever. I had an experience that made me feel that my own view of life and death had changed, and that is why I am giving it to you this time.
One of the people who came to offer their condolences said, “I received energy from the chairman because he was exactly the same as he was when he was in good health. Just like the way he lived his life, I want people to actually see and talk with him through his photographs and feel something.

When asked about his thoughts on Mr. Yamane, he looked the reporter straight in the eye and said, “The chairman has helped me many times.

I owe a lot to Mr. Yamane. I owe him a lot. From now on, I want to take good care of the people around me and aim for a cool way of life like the chairman.”

Even after his death, Mr. Yamane still exerts a strong influence on those he leaves behind. His spirit will continue to live on in people’s hearts.

From the April 26, 2024 issue of FRIDAY