Takeo Fujisawa; Co-Founder of Honda

Takeo Fujisawa, co-founder of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, Honda Motor Co., died of a heart ailment, a Tokyo hospital reported Saturday. He was 78.

Fujisawa, supreme adviser of the company and former vice president, died Friday, the hospital said.

With co-founder Soichiro Honda, Fujisawa developed Honda into the world’s top motorcycle maker. The company later expanded into the automobile market.

Fujisawa joined the company in 1949 when it was a small factory and supervised the company’s sales promotion as a senior manager. Honda is an engineer.

Fujisawa resigned as vice president of the company in 1973 and had since served the company as a supreme adviser. He is survived by his wife, Yoshiko. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.