Kazuo Wada, ex-Yaohan chief, dies at 90

August 29, 2019

Tokyo--Kazuo Wada, effective founder and former chairman of collapsed supermarket chain Yaohan Japan, died of old age on Aug. 19, it was learned Thursday. He was 90.

He passed away at his home in Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.

After graduating from Nihon University in 1951, Wada inherited a family-run fruit and vegetable shop in Atami, Shizuoka, and became president of a grocery store, the predecessor of Yaohan, in 1962.

By aggressively opening outlets in and outside Japan, including in many parts of Asia, Wada made Yaohan grow into a major international retail group listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section. In 1995, Yaohan opened in Shanghai what was then the largest department store in Asia.

Though once called the whiz kid of the retail industry, Yaohan, heavily burdened with investment costs, filed for bankruptcy protection in September 1997 under some 160 billion yen in debt.

Yaohan became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jusco Co., the predecessor of Japanese retail giant Aeon Co. <8267>, in 2000 and changed its corporate name to Maxvalu Tokai Co. in March 2002.

Wada's late mother, Katsu, was a model for the heroine of the hit Japanese television drama series "Oshin," aired in 1983-1984, which depicts a girl from a poor farming family overcoming various challenges with hard work and growing up to achieve success as the owner of a supermarket.

In March 2000, Wada established in Iizuka in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka a consulting company offering management advice based on his experiences of success and failure. Jiji Press