Nobuyo Oyama, voice actor for beloved Japanese cartoon robotic cat Doraemon, dies at age 90

TOKYO (AP) — Nobuyo Oyama, best known as the raspy voice of Doraemon, the beloved cartoon robotic cat from the future, has died. She was 90.

Oyama, who voiced Doraemon for more than a quarter century, died of natural causes on Sept. 29, her agency, Actors Seven, said Friday.

Oyama performed the voice of the blue-and-white robotic cat from 1979 to 2005.

Created by the cartoonist Fujiko F. Fujio in 1970, Doraemon and the story of his friendship with Nobita, a good-hearted but somewhat lazy boy, became hugely popular. The manga and anime series have been read and watched by millions of fans in Japan and across the world and have been translated into dozens of languages.