Pioneering Japanese photojournalist dies aged 107

Newswire

Tokyo: Tsuneko Sasamoto, a pioneering photographer considered to be Japan’s first female photojournalist, who swore by a glass of red wine each night as one of the keys to good health, has died at the age of 107, domestic media said.

She died on August 15 of old age, media added — just over two weeks before her 108th birthday.

Born in Tokyo the year World War One began, Sasamoto originally wanted to be a painter but was discouraged from it by her father. Inspired by a black-and-white film she saw with a friend, she began working as a photographer and in 1940 joined the Photographic Association of Japan.