name (), while is the last name of his Japanese wife. Ando died of heart failure on January 5, 2007, at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, at the age of 96. Ando was survived by his wife Masako, two sons and a daughter. Ando claimed that the secret of his long life was playing golf and eating Chicken ramen almost every day. He was said to have eaten instant ramen until the day he died. The New York Times wrote an editorial about his achievements. Legacy Commemoration On April 8, 2008, Heisei 20th, a ramen summit was held in Osaka and a bronze statue of Ando was unveiled at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture The statue depicts Ando standing atop a base resembling a cup noodle container while holding a cup noodles container in his right hand. Yasuhiro Nakasone (former Prime Minister of Japan) and Masako Ando (Ando's wife) attended the unveiling ceremony. There is a monument in the museum, written by Nakasone. On October 1, 2008, the company's name was changed "NISSIN FOODS HOLDINGS". At the same time, Nissin Foods Products Co., Ltd was founded. In the same year, Project Hyakufukusi was started. On March 5, 2015, Google placed a doodle created by Google artist Sophie Diao on its main web page commemorating his birthday. The name of the Momofuku restaurants in the United States alludes to Momofuku Ando. Honors Ando was repeatedly honored with medals by the Japanese government and the emperor—including The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Second Class—in 2002, which is the second-most prestigious Japanese decoration for Japanese civilians. Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon (1977) Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class, Gold and Silver Star (1982) Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (1983) Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency "Distinguished Service Award" (1992) Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class, Gold and Silver Star (2002) Foreign decoration Order of the Direkgunabhorn of Thailand, Fourth Clastas, (2001) Order of precedence Senior fourth rank (2007, posthumous) See also List of instant noodle brands List of inventors References External links Obituary and Appreciation in New York Times. January 9, 2007. Noodles Museum, Nissin Instant Ramen Noodles Museum, January 14, 2007 Rameniac's Ode to Nissin Chikin Ramen A Tribute To Momofuku Ando and His Life 1910 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Chinese businesspeople 20th-century Japanese businesspeople Businesspeople in