is a retired Japanese
professional shogi player
A professional shogi player (将棋棋士 ''shōgi kishi'' or プロ棋士 ''puro kishi'' "professional player") is a shogi player who is usually a member of a professional guild of shogi players.
There are two categories of professional player ...
who achieved the rank of 8-
dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
.
He is a former
senior managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the
Japan Shogi Association
The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materi ...
.
JSA director
Azuma has served on the
Japan Shogi Association's board of directors on a number of occasions. He first served as a
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
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* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
from 1995 to 2004,
and then as a
managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
from 2005 to 2006
and from 2011 to 2017.
In February 2017, Azuma was one of the two JSA board members to survive a
no-confidence vote
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
taken at an emergency meeting of the JSA membership as part of the fallout from
29th Ryūō challenger controversy. The following month he was elevated to senior managing director by the JSA board at a special meeting; he served in that capacity until the end of May 2017, but decided not to submit his name as a candidate for reelection as a board member at the JSA's 68th General Meeting on May 29, 2017.
Promotion history
The
promotion history for Azuma is as follows:
* 1971: 6-
kyū
is a Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, levels or degrees of proficiency or experience. In Mandarin Ch ...
* 1974: 1-dan
* 1976, July 16: 4-dan
* 1980, April 1: 5-dan
* 1984, April 1: 6-dan
* 1992, December 18: 7-dan
* 2015, April 1: 8-dan
* 2021, May 17: Retired
Awards and honors
Azuma received the JSA's "25 Years Service Award" in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years in 2001.
References
External links
* ShogiHub
Azuma, Kazuo
Japanese shogi players
Living people
Retired professional shogi players
Professional shogi players from Nagasaki Prefecture
People from Sasebo
1955 births
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