Senior Japanese Manga Artist Shinji Mizushima Dies of Pneumonia

jpnn.com, JEPANG - Senior Japanese manga artist Shinji Mizushima has died at the age of 82.

He died on January 10 after battling pneumonia.

Mizushima was the figure behind baseball-themed mangas such as "Dokaben" and "Abu-san".

The Niigata-native started his career as a cartoonist in 1958 when he was 18 years old.

His popularity skyrocketed after publishing a baseball series in 1970.

One of his best-known works, "Dokaben", tells the story of a high school baseball player who competes in a national tournament. The story has run for 46 years.

"Abu-san", which is also about baseball, is no less popular and has run for more than four decades.

Tetsuya Chiba, a fellow Japanese manga artist known for his boxing series "Ashita no Joe", praised Mizushima's deep knowledge of baseball.