Kazuo Azuma
is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. He is a former senior managing director of the Japan Shogi Association.Azuma has served on the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors on a number of occasions. He first served as a director from 1995 to 2004, and then as a managing director from 2005 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2017.
In February 2017, Azuma was one of the two JSA board members to survive a no-confidence vote taken at an emergency meeting of the JSA membership as part of the fallout from 29th Ryūō challenger controversy. The following month he was elevated to senior managing director by the JSA board at a special meeting; he served in that capacity until the end of May 2017, but decided not to submit his name as a candidate for reelection as a board member at the JSA's 68th General Meeting on May 29, 2017.Promotion history
The :Professional shogi player#Promotion|promotion history for Azuma is as follows:
- 1971: 6-kyū
- 1974: 1-dan
- 1976, July 16: 4-dan
- 1980, April 1: 5-dan
- 1984, April 1: 6-dan
- 1992, December 18: 7-dan
- 2015, April 1: 8-dan
Azuma received the JSA's "25 Years Service Award" in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years in 2001.
