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It has been revealed that Yuji Ohno, the composer and jazz pianist known as the creator of the music for “Lupin III,” passed away on May 4, 2026 due to old age. He was 84. The announcement was made on May 13 on Ohno’s official website and official X (formerly Twitter).
Yuji Ohno was born on May 30, 1941 in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He began playing piano in elementary school and studied jazz on his own during high school. While attending Keio University, he was a member of the Light Music Society and started his career as a jazz pianist with the Fujiya Kōji Quintet. Subsequently, after playing with the Shiraki Hideo Quintet, he formed his own trio. After the trio disbanded, he worked as a composer, creating an enormous number of commercial jingles as well as music for films and TV such as “The Inugami Family” and “Proof of the Man,” producing many famous pieces. His lyrical, grand-scale unique sound became a forerunner of the fusion boom in Japan, and his representative soundtracks for “Lupin III” and “Dai Tsuiseki” became a huge topic in the late 1970s.
In recent years, he focused his composition work on “Lupin III” and the NHK TV program “Chiisana Tabi” (Little Journey), and resumed activity as a performer. In addition to performing with the Yuji Ohno Trio, he formed Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Five in 2006. In 2016, with a new lineup, he formed Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Six, and actively performed live at venues ranging from jazz clubs in Tokyo to nationwide hall concerts, live houses, and rock festivals. In the anime scene, since the creation of the “Theme from Lupin III” in 1977, he was known as a composer who continued to walk alongside Lupin, and he himself expressed the ever-evolving Lupin music from the front lines as a performer.
The news of his death was announced on May 13 on Ohno’s official website and official X (formerly Twitter) under the name of Office Augusta. It was reported that he “passed away peacefully while sleeping, without suffering, having lived his usual life right up until the end.” Regarding the funeral and memorial service, they have already been held with only close relatives in accordance with the family’s wishes, and a farewell gathering etc. is planned for a later date.
Furthermore, it was reported that the produced live event “Lupintic All Stars Produced by YUJI OHNO” scheduled for May 30 at Billboard Live TOKYO will be held as planned, as the deceased had already prepared for it. Office Augusta concluded, “We hope that Yuji Ohno’s music will continue to remain in the hearts of many people.”
The official X account of the anime “Lupin III” also posted a tribute.
《仲瀬 コウタロウ》
