Minatoya first showed his ability on the world stage when he reached the under 68kg final of the 1965 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, although he was forced to settle for the silver medal after losing to his team-mate Hirofumi Matsuda.

After stepping up a weight division to under 70kg, Minatoya triumphed in the gold medal match at the 1967 World Championships in Salt Lake City.

The Japanese star was able to defeat South Korea’s Park Kil-Sun in the gold medal contest.

With the Championships then held on a biennial basis, Minatoya was able to defend his title two years later in Mexico City, after overcoming his compatriot Yoshimitsu Kono.

It would prove to be his last world title as he finished as the runner-up in Ludwigshafen am Rhein in 1971, after suffering defeat to his Japanese team-mate Hideki Tsuzawa in in the gold medal bout.

Despite his success on the world stage, Minatoya missed out on the opportunity of competing at the Olympic Games, with judo absent from the programme at Mexico City in 1968.

He was then beaten by his compatriot Toyokazu Nomura at the All-Japan Selected Judo Championships, which meant he would miss out on competing at Munich 1972.

Nomura went on to claim the gold medal at the Games, beating Poland’s Anton Zajkowski in the under 70kg final.

The IJF have also paid tribute to Minatoya’s ability as a coach.

He taught the sport at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology after his retirement.