Novelist Hideyuki Matsubara Dies at 76

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© Hideyuki Matsubara, Naomi Kajiyama, Kodansha

Novelist Hideyuki Matsubara died on February 18. He was 76. His relatives held a private funeral.

Matsubara is perhaps best known for his long-running Password children's book series. The book series centers on young boys and girls who connect through a pre-Internet electronic messaging service, and solve mysteries together. The book series began in 1995, and Matsubara released its latest volume in 2017. The series has 49 books in total and has 3.98 million copies in circulation.

Matsubara also wrote the screenplay for the 1997 OVA Shinkai no Kantai - Submarine 707.

Sources: Kodansha's Aoi Tori Bunko website, Asahi Shimbun