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BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Japanese Bond ally dies aged 84

Tetsuro Tamba in You Only Live Twice

Tamba was head of the Japanese Secret Service in the Bond film

Japanese actor Tetsuro Tamba, known worldwide for his appearance in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, has died aged 84, it is reported.

The actor's representatives told the Hollywood Reporter he died in Tokyo as a result of heart failure after a bout of pneumonia.

Tamba appeared in more than 300 films, including as Sean Connery's ally Tiger Tanaka in 1967's You Only Live Twice.

He also wrote books and produced documentaries on spiritualism.

Tamba won a Japanese Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1981 for 203 kochi, and was nominated again in the same category in 2001 for 15-Sai: Gakko IV.

He also appeared in numerous Japanese TV series, specialising in tough characters like police officers and gangsters.

He voiced the Cat King in the 2002 Studio Ghibli animation The Cat Returns.