Fujio Akatsuka passed away while suffering pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital at 4:55 PM, on Saturday, August 2. He was 72 years old.

Akatsuka debuted on the manga scene in 1956 with Arashi o Koete, achieving his first hit in 1962 with the comical Osomatsu-kun series. His other works include: Moretsu Atarou, Tensai Bakabon, and Hennako-chan, and the Himitsu no Akko-chan magical girl manga.

Akatsuka received the Literary Giant Award from the Japan Cartoonists Association in 1997.

Moretsu Ataro, Tensai Bakabon, Sosomatsu-kun, and Himitsu no Akko-chan all received anime TV series adaptations over the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Hennako-chan most recently premiered as a web anime series in April 2008.