Translated from the official statement:
“My father is dead.”
I still can’t believe I am saying those words.
“I’m going to live to be a 100 … no, maybe 120 or so.” That’s what Mizuki used to always say. With the advance of every year he got closer to that number, and we just thought he would keep going on forever.
At the end of last year, he suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital for two months. He came back home in February but was confined to a wheel chair. His body was weakened by the experience, but his spirit was as strong as ever. He improved bit by bit, until he was able to walk again. Eventually with rehabilitation, he could walk the 1 kilometer from the house to his office. And then his appetite returned, and he was able to say his favorite words “We got anything good to eat?”
“The gods decide when the end is, and we must abide by that,” Mizuki would say. He thought the best thing was to move on was peacefully without pain, and surrounded by family.
When he fell at his house (NOTE: the fall that eventually lead to his death), it was devastating. But perhaps that was the gods’ decision as well.
To my father, his family was the most important thing in the world. Even now he will continue to watch over us and protect us. And perhaps now he is in the company of his old comrades-in-arms who have welcomed him home.
A final message to his fans and everyone he worked with.
For a long time, you have supported our father. From our hearts, thank you.
