Kimio Yada

While attending the Higher Normal School (later School of Education) of Waseda University, Kimio Yada was the best placed Japanese in the high jump at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Three years before, he had already set a national record with 1.98 metres. He won his only national title, however, in the triple jump in 1936.

After graduating Yada began work as an elementary school teacher but also continued his studies at the History Department of Waseda. In 1942, he joined the Asahi Shimbun newspaper to become a social correspondent. One of his first scoops was the coverage of the Shimoyama incident in July 1949, concerning the mysterious death of Sadanori Shimoyama, the president of the National Railways. Yada was also a strong supporter of establishing a Japanese Antarctic research project, which started in 1955, and contributed to the realization of the exhibition of the Venus de Milo in Japan in 1964, the only occasion that the statue was shown outside of France.

After his retirement, Yada wrote a book titled The Killing – The Shimoyama Incident, which was in 1981 made into a movie called “Hot Days in Japan - The Shimoyama Incident” (English title: “Willful Murder”). He even managed a bowling alley for some years.

Personal Best: HJ – 1.98 (1933).