Japanese actress Miho Nakayama has been found dead aged 54 in the bathtub at her home in Tokyo.
She was best known for starring in the 1995 film, Love Letter, which earned her several best actress awards.
Nakayama was also a J-Pop singer in the 1980s and 90s and became one of Japan’s most beloved teen idols.
She had been due to perform at a Christmas show in Osaka on Friday but failed to meet her team at Shinagawa Station beforehand.
A member of her team went to her home and found her unresponsive. They called paramedics who confirmed her death, according to local media.
The cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
“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,” a statement on her website read on Friday.
It went on: “We are currently investigating the cause of death and other details.”
Nakayama’s show was cancelled before the news of her death was revealed, with officials stating poor health at the time.
She is survived by a son, who is in the custody of her ex-husband, musician Hitonari Tsuji.
They married in 2002 and moved to Paris, where Nakayama took a break from the spotlight.
She made her acting debut aged just 14 in 1985 in a high school comedy called Maido Osawagaseshimasu.
The star earned international acclaim with the romantic film Love Letter, playing a grieving widow who writes letters to a stranger living at her late fiancé’s address.
She starred in 14 films, the most recent being 2022’s Lesson in Murder, as well as dozens of TV shows and TV movies.
Nakayama also enjoyed success as a singer, recording 22 studio albums and enjoying eight number one singles in Japan, including Catch Me, You’re My Only Shining Star and Sekaijū no Dare Yori Kitto.
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