Susumu Oda, a renowned criminal psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, died Saturday from heart failure, his family said. He was 79.

Oda performed psychiatric evaluations on various crime suspects as well as the captain of a Japan Airlines plane that crashed in 1982.

Oda used his knowledge to provide commentary on television programs and in newspaper articles about the minds of criminals involved in cases that had an impact on society.

Specializing in criminal psychiatry and psychopathology, the professor taught at the University of Tsukuba, the International University of Health and Welfare and Tezukayama Gakuin University.