Famed consumer activist Yuri Takada died of pneumonia at a hospital in Kanagawa on Dec. 24, it was learned Wednesday. She was 87.

Takada began her involvement in the Japan Housewives Association, a powerful consumer activist group, around 1950.

After becoming its vice chairwoman in 1958, she tested a wide range of products and urged the government and producers to withdraw harmful goods and halt product misrepresentations, contributing to the development of Japan's consumer movement.

She chaired the association for two years from 1989.