Akihiro Miwa, a Japanese singer, actor and voice performer, died on June 20 at the age of 91, according to his agency.

Born in 1935 in Nagasaki, Miwa survived the 1945 atomic bombing and later moved to Tokyo, where he began a professional singing career at 16, performing in genres including classical, chanson, tango, Latin and jazz.

He was best known for voicing the Witch of the Waste in Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle and Moro in Princess Mononoke, as well as roles as Arceus in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, Froy in Harmagedon, and the Queen of the Night in Maeterlinck's Blue Bird. He also appeared in Takeshi Kitano's 2005 film Takeshis' and performed on stage in Yukio Mishima's Black Lizard play.

Miwa wrote several books, including Shiawase no Oban Furumai, and was named an honorary citizen of Tokyo in 2018 for his contributions to stage, film, television, lectures and writing.

His agency said he reduced his activities in the year before his death due to declining health and convalesced at home; his funeral was held privately and decorated with yellow roses that he loved.

Miwa's work in animation and music remains influential in Japan and abroad.