Minoru Yoneyama
Minoru Yoneyama (米山 稔, Yoneyama Minoru, 15 October 1924 – 11 November 2019) was a Japanese businessman who founded the sports-equipment company
Biography
Yoneyama was born on 15 October 1924 in Koshiji, Niigata (now part of Nagaoka), Japan.[1] During World War II, he served in the Imperial Japanese Army in a suicide unit whose task was to ram boats filled with explosives into American ships.[2] However, he did not receive an order to execute a mission before his capture by the Americans in Okinawa, where he was subsequently held in a prison camp.[2]
After his release at the end of the war, Yoneyama made floats for recreational fishing starting in 1946.[2] When business slumped, in 1957 he began making rackets for badminton, which was becoming popular in Japan at the time. He incorporated Yoneyama Company the following year.[2][3] In 1963, the company's racket factory burned down, but Yoneyama was able to set up a new plant and resume production in only three days.[2]
The company branched into tennis rackets in 1969 and golf clubs in 1982. It was renamed as Yonex in 1982[4] and relocated to Tokyo.[2] Yonex signed contracts with some of the world's top tennis players such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Kimiko Date.[2]
As the company diversified under Yoneyama's leadership, he still paid close attention to badminton, inking a sponsorship agreement with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in 1988 and signing badminton greats such as Rudy Hartono and Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen as brand ambassadors.[4] The company became one of the world's top producers of tennis and badminton rackets and golf clubs.[3]
In 2015, Yoneyama was awarded the BWF President's Medal for his "extraordinary services to the sport". The medal was presented by Høyer, who was by then the president of BWF.[4]
Yoneyama died on 11 November 2019 at a hospital in Niigata, aged 95.[3]
References
- ^ "米山稔". Great Dictionary of Japanese People (日本人名大辞典) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Saeki, Taro (16 November 2019). "Sports equipment maker Yonex's founder dies at 95". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "Yonex Founder Yoneyama Dies at 95". Nippon.com. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "BWF Pays Tribute to Yonex Founder Minoru Yoneyama". BWF. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
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