Kimihiko Tsukuda, the creator of the longest-running newspaper manga in Japan, passed away in a Tokyo hospital on June 28 at 12:20 a.m. due to pneumonia. He was 80.

The Tokyo-born artist began drawing his four-panel Chibikko Shinshi manga strips in the Tokyo Shimbun paper in 1956. He renamed his work as Honobono-kun on February 6, 1984 — the day after publishing his 5,000th strip. He would finish the manga on March 8, 2007 after 51 years and 15,451 strips. Tsukuda won the Manga Artist Society's grand prize in 2004 for Honobono-kun, which was known as the "Japanese Charlie Brown" for its gentle, humorous touch.

Tsukuda had been in failing health since the end of 2006, and had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He eventually had to stop his manga when he could no longer hold his brush. Tsukuda's family held a private funeral service on July 1.