Overview
- Niwa died on December 24, 2025 of natural causes, as announced by the Japan-China Friendship Association and related parties on January 8.
- A family-only funeral was held on January 5, 2026.
- As Itochu president from 1998, he ordered a one-time write-off of bad assets around the 2000 fiscal year, leading to a V-shaped recovery and record profit in fiscal 2001.
- He later served as chairman from 2004 to 2010 and took government roles including private-member of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and chair of the Regional Autonomy Reform Promotion Committee.
- Appointed ambassador to China in 2010, he served until 2012 working to repair strained ties, then led the Japan-China Friendship Association from 2015 until stepping down in 2024.