Veteran Japanese manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, best known for his acclaimed series Ashita no Joe, has died at the age of 87 after battling a rare bone marrow disorder.

Chiba, who became the first manga artist to receive Japan’s prestigious Order of Culture, died of myelodysplastic syndrome at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday, October 22, 2026, according to The Japan Times.

Born in Tokyo in 1939, Chiba spent much of his early childhood outside Japan after his family relocated to the Korean Peninsula and later to Japanese-controlled Manchuria, in present-day northeastern China, when he was two years old.

During his time in Manchuria, he witnessed the hardships of World War II and the violence that followed its conclusion. His family eventually returned to Japan in 1946.

Chiba developed an interest in manga during his early years in Japan and began pursuing a career in illustration. He made his professional debut at the age of 17, marking the beginning of a career that would span several decades.

In 1962, he received a children’s manga award from Japanese publisher Kodansha, further establishing his reputation in the industry.

Over the years, Chiba created several celebrated works, including Shiden-Kai no Taka, which explored the experiences of a fighter pilot during World War II, and Harris no Kaze, a sports manga that was later adapted into a popular television anime series.

His other notable works include Notari Matsutaro, centred on the world of professional sumo wrestling, Ashita Tenki ni Naare, a golf-themed manga, and Ore wa Teppei, which follows a young boy’s journey through the Japanese martial art of kendo.

Chiba was particularly celebrated for Ashita no Joe, a boxing manga that became one of Japan’s most influential works in the genre and helped establish his legacy in the country’s manga industry.