Antonio Inoki, the Japanese pro wrestler famous for his fights with Muhammad Ali, died aged 79 on Saturday. Local media reports say that the wrestler-turned-politician died of heart failure.

His death was confirmed by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co, an organisation of which he was the founding president. Inoki was suffering from a rare disease called amyloidosis and he had been wheelchaired since 2021 with spinal issues.  

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Inoki is survived by his daughter Hiroko Inoki, and his first wife Mitsuko Baisho. His second wife, Tazuko Tada, died in 2019.

Antonio Inoki wives

Antonio Inoki was married twice. His first wife, Mitsuko Baisho is an actress of international fame who has worked with directors like Akira Kurosawa and Shohei Imamura. Inoki married Mitsuko in 1971 and together they had Inoki’s only child, daughter Hiroka. 

Baisho has worked in at least 102 films in different roles. Among her best works are Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) and The Dreams (1990). With Imamura she has played important roles in films like Vengeance Is Mine (1979) and The Eel (1997). 

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Her most recent work is as a voiceover artist in the role of The Mistress in Goro Miyazaki’s Tales from Earthsea (2006).

Inoki and Baisho divorced after 16 years of marriage in 1987. 

Antonio Inoki married Tazuko Tada after his divorce with Baisho. It was a low-key private marriage and the details of it are known. Inoki and Tada were together till the latter passed away in 2019. 

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Inoki had announced his wife’s death and asked for privacy from the public. In fact, his marriage and life with Tazuko Tada was extremely private and little detail about the two is available in public domain. 

Since his death, condolences have poured in on social media. Inoki will be remembered for his actions inside the ring and outside as a politician and statesman.