Nobuo Inaba, the former president of Japanese public broadcaster NHK, died of aspiration pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Oct. 6. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Inaba, a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Economics, joined the Bank of Japan in 1974 and became an executive director of the central bank in 2004. Inaba assumed the post of executive adviser at Ricoh Co. in 2008 and chaired the board of the major Japanese optical and office equipment maker from 2017.
In January 2023, he succeed Terunobu Maeba as president of NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp. Inaba worked to expand internet distribution of NHK television programs partly through the launch of a service called NHK One. He also reduced viewing fees while promoting cost cuts and other structural reform measures.
He announced in May 2025 that he had early-stage lung cancer but continued serving as NHK president until the end of his three-year term in January this year. Inaba “steered NHK in its turbulent period with the profound insight and strong sense of responsibility he cultivated during his career at the BOJ and in the private sector,” current NHK President Tatsuhiko Inoue said.
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