KEY POINTS:
Shigeru 'Shiggy' Konno, who helped Japan on to the world rugby stage, has died just as the minnows seek to host the Rugby World Cup for the first time in Asia.
He was 84.
Konno was a former head of the Japan Rugby Football Union and one-time executive member of the International Rugby Board.
Fluent in English and with British manners acquired mostly from a childhood spent in London, Konno played a central role in the establishment of the Asian Rugby Football Union in 1968.
He headed the national team on their expeditions overseas over four decades, including Japan's inaugural World Cup in 1988 and again in 1992.
He was an executive member of the International Rugby Board from 1991 to 2000.
His death comes with Japan having scored just one victory in 16 matches over the past five World Cups.
Japan is bidding to host the World Cup in 2015 after narrowly losing out to New Zealand for the 2011 tournament.
