TOKYO: Kenjiro Shinozuka, the first Japanese winner of the Paris-Dakar Rally and the FIA World Rally Championship, died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on Monday. He was 75.

A native of Tokyo, Shinozuka started his career as a rally driver after entering Tokai University. After joining Mitsubishi Motors Corp., he became a company driver and later expanded to overseas rallies.

His career as a rally driver came to a pause because the automaker halted its rally activities due to exhaust gas regulations, before he first competed in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986.

Shinozuka became the first Japanese to win the Paris-Dakar, in the car division in 1997 at age 48. Mitsubishi’s Pajero SUV, driven by Shinozuka in the rally, became a popular model.

In 1991, he also became the first Japanese to win the Ivory Coast Rally of the FIA World Rally Championship, with Mitsubishi’s Galant car. He also won the race the following year.

After finishing third overall in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 2002, he left Mitsubishi. But he continued to compete in the rally until 2007. He was inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame in 2022.

He is known for his social contributions. He built an elementary school in Senegal.

JIJI Press