Tribute Watanabe Tsuneo: A Legacy of Secret Meetings and Bold Moments

A major influence in politics, media, and the baseball world.

Watanabe Tsuneo, who held significant influence in media, politics, and the baseball world as the head of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, passed away at the age of 98 on the morning of the 19th from pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo.

Watanabe, who rose to prominence as a political reporter at Yomiuri Shimbun, became the company’s president and editor-in-chief in 1991. During his tenure, the newspaper achieved a circulation of 10 million copies in 1994. He maintained strong connections with key political figures, including former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and held considerable influence over policy discussions, such as constitutional reform, reduced tax rates, and grand coalition ideas. His involvement in politics, despite being a media figure, often drew criticism.

His influence was particularly notable in professional baseball, especially with the Yomiuri Giants. Although he had no prior interest in baseball, he became involved in the management of the team around 1989 and became its owner in 1996. During the 2004 baseball league reorganization dispute, he advocated for a single-league system, but it was met with strong opposition from the public and players, leading to its collapse. Amidst the controversy that year, a scandal involving under-the-table money for draft prospects surfaced, and Watanabe resigned.

However, in June 2005, he returned as the team’s chairman. In November 2011, he was accused by then team representative Hidetoshi Kiyota of improperly intervening in coaching personnel decisions. Despite such challenges, his power remained unshaken, and he was even known to refer to himself as a dictator.

Here, we present a selection of articles we’ve reported on Watanabe Tsuneo (note: titles and names reflect the time of the reporting).