Kaoru Kanetaka, a reporter who starred in a popular TV travel show that aired for 30 years, has died of heart failure, her office said Wednesday. She was 90.

As a pioneering journalist and broadcaster, Kanetaka brought the world to viewers with her TV series that began in 1959, when traveling abroad was still a pipe dream for most Japanese. The government lifted restrictions on overseas travel by Japanese citizens in 1964.

Kanetaka's journeys for the program, later titled "Sekai no Tabi" ("Trip around the World"), totaled around 7,210,000 kilometers and covered about 150 countries.

Having studied in the United States, she also contributed articles to The Japan Times.