johardy25/05/2026 - 11:30 TOKYO May 25 (AFP) - Former chairman of Seven & i Holdings Toshifumi Suzuki, credited for the global success of 7-Eleven convenience stores, has died at the age of 93, the company said Monday.
Suzuki "passed away due to heart failure on May 18," the company said in a statement.
"We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to him during his lifetime and respectfully inform you of his passing."
Suzuki is known for opening the first 7-Eleven store in Japan in 1974 and growing the business into the world's largest convenience store chain, including through turning the struggling US headquarters into a subsidiary of the Japanese company and rebuilding it.
He is known as the "father of the convenience store" in Japan.
© Agence France-Presse
