Actor Akira Nakao died of heart failure on May 16. He was 81. The actor’s health was fluctuating in the last years of his life. A close funeral was held by his wife, actress Shino Ikenami, for close relatives.

Nakao was born on August 11, 1942 in Chiba prefecture.

Nakao played Ryuzo Genda in Sega‘s Judgement games, which are spinoffs of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series (known as Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan).

The actor played Hiroshi Uchiyamada in the Great Teacher Onizuka live-action television series, as well as numerous roles in the Japanese Godzilla movies including in the 2003 film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. The actor played himself in the live-action movie adaptation of Momoko Kōda‘s No Longer Heroine (Heroine Shikkaku).

Outside of acting, Nakao also had a successful art career and held solo exhibitions. He won the bronze award at Le Salon exhibition in France in 1980, and returned the next year to win the Grand Prix.

Source: Sports Hochi via Yahoo News