Sawako Noma, president of Kodansha, died of heart failure on March 31. She was 67. A former housewife, Noma was thrust into the top position of the largest trade publishing house in Japan in 1987, when her husband, the fifth Kodansha president, Koremichi Noma, suddenly died.
For nearly 25 years, Noma led Kodansha in Japan’s often a male-dominated publishing industry. Kodansha published Haruki Murakami’s debut novel, Norwegian Wood, in Noma’s first year and went on to become a million-copy seller. Noma also served as the director of Reading Promotion Council, leading its efforts to promote storytelling programs for young children.
Noma’s eldest daughter, Chikako, worked at Kodansha America as a licensing manager and now lives on Long Island. Kodansha will be run by the youngest of Noma’s five children and her only son, Yoshinobu Noma, 42, who was scheduled to take over as the president in April.
Noma’s funeral will be private although there will be a company-wide memorial sometime in the future.
