TOKYO (TR) – An abnormal heart rhythm was the cause of death of Rina Matsuno, the 18-year-old member of the all-girl idol group Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku who passed away last week after missing a concert, the group’s agency announced on Friday, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 10).
Stardust Promotion revealed that Matsuno died from a fatal arrhythmia, or abnormal heart rhythm, after she was rushed by ambulance from her parents residence in the capital to a hospital early on February 8. There was no further explanation as to how the heart condition led to her death.
The day before, Matsuno did not perform at a Shiritsu Ebisu Concert in Osaka due an undisclosed illness. She then returned to her Tokyo home to recuperate.
Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku is an eight-member group that formed in 2012 as protegee group to fellow idol unit Momoiro Clover Z. The latter group remembered Matsuno at a concert at Yokohama Arena on February 11. “Even now I do not believe it,” said member Ayaka Sasaki, according to Daily Sports (Feb. 11). “But rather than not believing it I suppose it is better to say that there is a part of me that does not want to believe it.”
