Former Mitsui Bank President Goro Koyama died of heart failure Thursday at a Tokyo hospital. He was 96.
A native of Gunma Prefecture, Koyama joined Mitsui Bank in 1932 after graduating from Tokyo Imperial University, now the University of Tokyo.
He served as president of the bank from 1968 to 1974 and became honorary chairman and adviser in 1988.
Koyama continued to fill the seat even after Mitsui Bank and Taiyo Kobe Bank merged to form Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank and then renamed itself Sakura Bank in 1990.
He became honorary adviser of Sakura Bank in 1998 and kept the post even after the bank became Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., after merging with Sumitomo Bank in 2001.
Known for his strong-mindedness, he was dubbed "Fighter Goro."
