"Yu-Gi-Oh!" Creator Died Trying to Rescue Girl at Sea

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of popular manga series "Yu-Gi-Oh!," who died in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa in July, lost his life while trying to rescue a girl at sea, local Japan Coast Guard officials have revealed.

On July 4, Takahashi, whose real name was Kazuo Takahashi, found the girl and her parents being washed away near a beach in the village of Onna, according to the JCG's 11th regional headquarters in Naha, Okinawa's capital.

Takahashi and two others nearby including a U.S. serviceman went to help them. The serviceman rescued the girl, while the parents returned to shore by themselves. But Takahashi is believed to have been caught in waves.

The body of Takahashi, then 60, was found afloat in waters off the city of Nago two days later.

The JCG station has refrained until now from making public the fact that Takahashi was trying to rescue the girl and her parents, because the girl has been in shock.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]