News

The body of "Crayon Shin-chan" author Yoshito Usui is airlifted from Mount Arafune in Gunma Prefecture on Sunday afternoon. (Mainichi)

MAEBASHI -- A body found at the bottom of a cliff on a mountain in Gunma Prefecture has been identified as that of Yoshito Usui, author of the popular manga "Crayon Shin-chan."

Police identified the author's body from dental records. Gunma Prefectural Police said that Usui appeared to have fallen 120 meters from Tomoiwa cliff on Mount Arafune, which straddles Gunma and Nagano Prefectures.

Usui's camera and his backpack, which contained his cell phone, wallet and some clothing, were found on a slope about 50 meters away.

A climber found the body on Saturday morning, and a Gunma Prefectural Police helicopter lifted it out of the area on Sunday afternoon. An autopsy conducted at Shimonita Police Station concluded that Usui likely died around Sept. 11 after his lungs were crushed from the impact of the fall.

Gunma Prefectural Police said that there are no protective barriers in the area, but the hiking trail was located away from the cliff, and there had reportedly been no serious accidents in the area.

On Monday, publisher Futabasha held a news conference in Tokyo, where company officials expressed shock at the 51-year-old author's death. Officials who were shown Usui's belongs at Shimonita Police Station said that a photograph was left on Usui's camera indicating that he had tried to take a photograph over the edge of the cliff.

"He was brimming with curiosity, and he often took photographs. His foot probably slipped as he took the photo," said Futaba official Koji Shimano.

A regular climber, Usui had left his home on the morning of Sept. 11, saying he was taking a trip to Mount Arafune. His wife filed a search request with police the following day, when he failed to return.

Usui was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, and graduated from Kasukabe Technical High School. In 1987, he won Futabasha's Weekly Manga Action magazine newcomer's award for his work "Darakuya Store Monogatari," his debut as a manga author.

In 1990, "Crayon Shin-chan" started as a series in Futabasha's "Shukan Manga Action" magazine. The stories about kindergartener Shinnosuke Nohara, who lives in the city of Kasukabe and loves beautiful girls, became a hit, and in 1992 an animated television version was launched. Since 2000, Crayon Shin-chan has been carried in the monthly "Manga Town" publication. Futaba officials said they had already received the manuscript for the December issue which will go on sale on Nov. 5.