【malay lucah sex】Sudoku Maker Maki Kaji, Who Saw Life's Joy in Puzzles, Dies

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Maki Kaji,malay lucah sex the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.

Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for “number” and “single,” and players place the numbers 1 through 9 in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them.

Ironically, it wasn’t until 2004 when Sudoku became a global hit, after a fan from New Zealand pitched it and got it published in the British newspaper The Times. Two years later, Japan rediscovered its own puzzle as a “gyakuyunyu,” or “reimport.”

Kaji was chief executive at his puzzle company, Nikoli Co., until July and died Aug. 10 at his home in Mitaka, a city in the Tokyo metro area.

Maki traveled to more than 30 countries spreading his enjoyment of puzzles. Sudoku championships have drawn some 200 million people in 100 countries over the years, according to Tokyo-based Nikoli.

Sudoku was also never trademarked except within Japan, driving its overseas craze, Nikoli said.

“Kaji-san came up with the name Sudoku and was loved by puzzle fans from all over the world. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the patronage you have shown throughout his life,” the company said in a statement.

Originally, Sudoku was called “Suji-wa-Dokushin-ni-Kagiru,” which translates to, “Numbers should be single, a bachelor.” In recent years, Sudoku, believed to be the world’s most popular pencil puzzle, has come out in digital versions.

Born in the main northern island of Hokkaido, Maki started Japan’s first puzzle magazine after dropping out of Keio University in Tokyo. He founded Nikoli in 1983, and came up with Sudoku about the same time.

Yoshinao Anpuku, who succeeded Kaji as Nikoli’s chief executive, said Kaji made friends easily and had a “unique and playful approach toward life.”

“Our mission is to pursue Maki’s vision and possibilities,” Anpuku said.

Nikoli has provided original puzzles to more than 100 media companies, 10 of them foreign ones.

Major Japanese newspaper Mainichi in its obituary credited Kaji for starting the puzzle sections at bookstores, as well as introducing the word “Sudoku” into the Oxford English dictionary.

Kaji is survived by his wife Naomi and two daughters. Funeral services have been held among close family. A separate memorial service is being arranged by Nikoli, but details were still undecided.

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Articles for you

• focus
• hotspot
• synthesize
• fashion
• relaxation
• explore
• recreation
• knowledge

• Love Little Tokyo
• Netflix shares 'Adolescence' BTS showing how they filmed *that* sequence
• Moving Targets
• Asus Rog Zephyrus deal: get $600 off this gaming laptop at Best Buy
• Premiere of ‘Pilgrimage to Manzanar’ at Museum of Tolerance
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for March 17, 2025
• The Opioid Thief
• How to unblock XVideos for free
• Packing for a Cause
• Best espresso machine deal: Save $200 on the Philips 3300 fully automatic espresso machine

• Ignore the claim that streaming Netflix ‘makes climate change worse’
• Sony randomly announced a concept car at CES just because they could
• '90 Day Fiancé' is the best reality show on TV right now
• Lizzo lends a hand packing hampers for people affected by Australia's bushfire crisis
• The OnePlus Concept One phone comes equipped with disappearing cameras
• Serena Williams and Roger Federer to play in Australian bushfire charity match
• Jodie Comer and Andrew Scott play
• Scammers are trying to fool people into thinking they've been drafted
• Facebook revamps 'privacy checkup' to help manage data settings
• 50% off QuickBooks Payroll services will save you time and money

• Packing for a Cause
• Catholic Sisters Storm Capitol Hill
• NCAA bracket: 3 strangest ways 2025 March Madness winners were picked
• Meta is allegedly testing AI
• Watanabe Returns to 'Extraordinary Chambers'
• TikTok security ramps up as potential new owners circle
• Best free online courses from Stanford University
• Art After Social Collapse
• Hirahara to Speak at Santa Monica Library
• GM is teaming with Nvidia to produce fleet of self

• IT PAYS TO KNOW: He Is Not Here — He Is Risen!
• Shrinking the President
• NYT Connections hints and answers for March 18: Tips to solve 'Connections' #646.
• Shop the Beats Studio Pro headphones for under $200 at Amazon
• Coronavirus Presents Challenges to 2020 Census
• Sweet, Sweet Phantasy
• Space Station astronauts watched 'Star Wars' from orbit above Earth
• We’re Living in “The Thick of It”
• Rev. Harada Named Bishop of BCA
• LinkedIn launches ‘Zip,’ a brain