Composer and singer Masaaki Hirao passed away due to pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Friday night.
Hirao went on to compose the theme song for the Galaxy Express 999 anime and the Captain Harlock: Mystery of the Arcadia and Galaxy Express 999: Glass no Clair anime films.
In 1974, he opened the Hirao Masaaki music school, which trained other singers such as Mayo Kawasaki, Seiko Matsuda, Ayumi Nakamura, Hiroko Moriguchi, and Yōko Hatanaka.
In 2003, the Japanese government awarded Hirao the Medal With Purple Ribbon, which honors academic and artistic achievement.