Miho Nakayama, a Japanese teen idol of the 1980s who went on to become an award-winning actor, died Friday, shocking her management and fans. The 54-year-old was found dead in a bathtub at her Tokyo home on Friday by an acquaintance who went to investigate after Nakayama failed to show up at work, the BBC reports. Paramedics confirmed the star's death, noting the cause is under investigation. "We are deeply sorry to have to suddenly announce this to all the people involved who have always looked after her and to all the fans who have supported her, but this incident was so sudden that we, too, are shocked and saddened," the star's management agency wrote on her website, per USA Today.
Nakayama had been scheduled to perform a Christmas concert Friday in Tokyo. However, an earlier notice on her website said the event had been canceled "due to Miho Nakayama's poor health." On Thursday, the star had shared an image on Instagram of embroidery by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, whose work is being shown at a Tokyo museum. The art read, "I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK. AND LET ME TELL YOU IT WAS WONDERFUL," per Newsweek. In the caption, Nakayama wrote, "My heart was so overwhelmed for a couple of days I could only talk with my friend I went with."
Nakayama rose to fame during the height of J-pop's influence in the 1980s with hits like "Sekaiju no Dare Yori Kitto" (Surely More Than Anyone in the World) and "Tada Nakitaku Naruno" (I Just Want to Cry), per Newsweek. She made her acting debut in a Japanese TV drama in 1985 and later won numerous best actress awards for her performance in 1995's Love Letter, an internationally acclaimed film in which she played a grieving woman who received surprising responses to letters penned to her dead fiancé. She leaves behind a son, whom she shares with her ex-husband, musician Hitonari Tsuji. (More obituary stories.)
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