From the top of its 1.90 meter, Antonio Inoki was one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts in Japan. Having become famous in 1976, after a fight against the Mohamed Ali boxer in Tokyo, he was a senator from 1989 to 1995, then re -elected parliamentary in 2013.
Le Monde with AFP
The Japanese national television channel NHK said on Saturday 1
From the top of his 1.90 meter, Antonio Inoki was one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts in his country. Become famous in 1976, after a fight against the boxer Mohamed Ali in Tokyo, he was a senator from 1989 to 1995. It was in 1998 that he stopped fighting.
“contribute to peace global through sport “
Re -elected parliamentary in 2013, he established strong personal relations with North Korea where he went dozens of times to try in particular to help resolve the issue of kidnapping of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang during the Cold War.
The wrestler, who said he wanted to “contribute to world peace through sport”, had organized martial and struggle festivals in North Korea, the opportunity for him to meet the country’s leaders. In 2013, on his return from a trip to Pyongyang, he had received a suspension of one month for having left North Korea without authorization from the Parliament.