(Irene Hirano (4th from L), wife of Daniel K. Inouye, the late senator from Hawaii, takes part in a ceremony at the airport renamed after him on May 30, 2017, to commemorate the name change)

WASHINGTON - Irene Hirano, head of the U.S.-Japan Council and widow of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, died Tuesday in Los Angeles following an extended illness, the council said Wednesday. She was 71.