The Japanese manga artist is being remembered as a "hero" after dying while reportedly trying to help rescue a U.S. soldier, an 11-year-old girl and her mother from a current at a dive spot in Japan.
Major Robert Bourgeau, 49, told military newspaper Stars and Stripes that Takahashi had tried to help rescue those who were caught in the riptide when he drowned. A spokesman for the Japan Coast Guard added that Takahashi's body was recovered 1,000 feet away from the shore of Awa, Nago.
The Japan Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
A marine official reported on July 6 that a body was floating in the water, Japanese outlet NHK reported. First responders arrived on the scene and declared that individual dead. The next day, it was confirmed to be Takahashi. He was 60.
"You play that 'what if' game a lot," Bourgeau told Stars and Stripes, adding of Takahashi, "This guy had a huge impact on the world."
On July 4, Bourgeau, who is from Missoula, Montana, was serving as a scuba diving instructor at Mermaid's Grotto around 2 p.m. local time.
He recalled, "The conditions were really, really rough." He saw a local woman screaming for help as her daughter and a 39-year-old soldier were being swallowed by a heavy current. They were roughly 100 yards from shore at the time as the six-foot waves hit them.
Bourgeau teamed up with one of his scuba diving students to reach snorkelers, and another student called for help. According to people at the scene, Kazuki -- the eventual inspiration for the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" trading card game -- dove into a riptide in hopes of bringing a woman and her 11-year-old daughter back to shore on July 4.
Major Robert Bourgeau, a 49-year-old U.S. Army officer and scuba diving instructor, also took action ... and while he personally did not encounter Takahashi during the rescue mission, multiple people say they saw the artist attempting to assist.
Bourgeau managed to save the 11-year-old girl and the mother ... but when he went to help a 39-year-old U.S. soldier who was also struggling in the water, he feared he would lose his life if he went on any longer.
The story, which is in the Department of Defence’s own newspaper, says that 49-year-old Major Robert Bourgeau has been recommended for a Soldier’s Medal for his actions on July 4, where he reportedly spotted three swimmers struggling in a “dangerous riptide” and immediately swam out to rescue them. The swimmers, who were two Japanese citizens, were brought to shore, and the US soldier was directed to safety.
During the rescue, however, it is reported that “several sworn witness statements” say that Takahashi also jumped in to help the struggling swimmers, but that onlookers merely “caught glimpses of him until he disappeared beneath the waves”.
Takahashi’s body was found by the Japanese Coast Guard the following day off the coast of Nago in the northern part of Okinawa. His car was found parked at Mermaid’s Grotto, where the incident took place.
Bourgeau told the newspaper, “He’s a hero,” before adding, “He died trying to save someone else.”
Fans of the series have been speaking out online about the circumstances surrounding Takahashi’s death, with one saying, “It takes courage, selflessness and honour as a human being to put your life on the line for strangers.”
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