By WANG XU | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-05-24 09:05 Share CLOSE Mikiko Matsuyama, a Japanese ballet dancer and co-founder of Japan's Matsuyama Ballet troupe, died aged 98 on Saturday. According to Matsuyama Ballet, the artistic director of the troupe died of acute heart failure in Tokyo about 3:40 am. Born in Kagoshima prefecture in 1923, Matsuyama had devoted her life to ballet and made a great contribution in introducing Chinese culture to Japan. In 1948 Matsuyama and her husband, Masao Shimizu, founded Matsuyama Ballet, which went on to become a leading ballet troupe in Japan and gain a worldwide reputation. The troupe built up a following in the United States, Europe and China.