Nihon Falcom has recently announced through their official website that the company’s founder, Masayuki Kato, has sadly passed away at the age of 78.
Below is a translation of the company’s notice :
[Notice of Passing Away of Chairman of the Board and Changes in Directors (Obituary)]
We regret to inform that Masayuki Kato, the founder and Chairman of [Nihon Falcom’s] Board of Directors, passed away on December 15, 2024. As such, he has been retired as a director from the company. We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude for your kindness and support during his life at the company.
With the passing and resignation of this Director, the number of Directors has been reduced by one. However, the company still meets the number of Directors required by [Japanese] law. The funeral will be held privately among close family members, and at the request of his family, we will respectfully decline visits, floral offerings, condolence gifts, incense offerings, etc. A “farewell party” (name not decided) will be held at a later date, but specific details have not yet been decided.
The notice also goes to say about Kato’s positions over the years. He was assigned as the Appointed Representative Director of the former Nihon Falcom Corporation (now known as Falcom Corporation) in March of 1981, and then in June 1988, he was the Appointed Representative Director of the former Falcom Dot Com Corporation (now known as Nihon Falcom Holdings Corporation). In December 2023, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company.
Yuzo Koshiro has also commented on X (formerly Twitter), about Kato’s passing. You can view his translated message below:
“I will never forget the day that [Kato-san] had implemented a music tape of my own composition that I brought in to be used as the background music for Xanadu Scenario II . That marked my starting point [as a composer]. would like to express my sincere gratitude to him for nurturing both Ys and Sorcerian for many years, and I pray for the repose of his soul.”
私が持ち込んだ自作の音楽テープを、ザナドゥシナリオⅡのBGMに即座に採用していただいたことが、私の原点となりました。イースやソーサリアンを長年にわたり大切に育てていただき、心から感謝申し上げます。加藤正幸様のご冥福を心よりお祈りいたします。
— 古代祐三 Yuzo Koshiro (@yuzokoshiro) December 17, 2024
