TOKYO (TR) – Singer and actress Miho Nakayama was found dead inside her residence in Shibuya Ward on Friday at the age of 54, police said.
According to police, Nakayama did not show up for a meeting on Friday morning. At around noon, a member of her agency visited her home in the Ebisu area and found her collapsed in the bathtub.
Medical personnel later confirmed her dead at the scene. Her body showed no signs of external wounds.
Police are now seeking the cause of death, reports Fuji News Network (Dec. 6).
Nakayama was scheduled to perform a concert at Billboard Live in Osaka City on Friday. “Due to Miho Nakayama’s poor health, the performance has been canceled,” her agency wrote on its web site.
Best New Artist
Nakayama was born in Tokyo in 1970. She entered the entertainment industry in 1982, after being scouted in the Harajuku shopping district. She made her debut as a singer in 1985 with the single “C,” which resulted in her taking the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist.
Also in 1985, she attracted attention for her role in the sex-education drama “Maido Osawagase Shimasuu.” It was around this time that she quickly became one of Japan’s top idols, with her fans affectionately referring to her as “Miporin.”
One decade later, she won numerous awards for her lead role in the film “Love Letter,” directed by Shunji Iwai. In 1997, she appeared in the Naoto Takenaka film “Tokyo Biyori,” for which she played the wife of photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. She went on to win the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actress.
Karaoke hits
Her career as a singer continued. She is credited with a number of hits that are still popular today in karaoke, including the 1991 single “Sekaijuu no Dare Yori Kitto” and “Tada Nakitaku Naru No” three years later.
In her private life, she married writer and musician Hitonari Tsuji in 2002 and moved to Paris, France. After divorcing him, she resumed her entertainment activities in Japan. Her younger sister is Shinobu Nakayama, who is also a singer and actress.
Nakayama updated her Instagram account on Thursday. She wrote, “I went to the Louise Bourgeois exhibition the other day. Sorry for the poor photos. It tore at my heartstrings for two or three days and I was only able to talk to the friend who went with me. I’m not good at photos, but even if I was good I wouldn’t be able to express anything.”
