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The death of Japanese actress Takeuchi Yuko from an apparent suicide on Sunday has sparked a torrent of pain and reflection from both common fans and industry insiders.
By the time he was 40 at the time of his death, Takeuchi had been the pinnacle of his profession for two decades, appearing in a constant stream of movies, television dramas and, that important barometer of popularity in the local entertainment world, commercials from television.
Takeuchi, the latest in a procession of prominent Japanese talents who took their own lives, including actor Miura Haruma and actress Ashina Sei, was arguably the biggest name and his death is causing the biggest commotion.
After rising to stardom in the 1999 NHK morning drama Asuka As a teenager, Takeuchi was in high demand, with his perky smile and radiant face on everything from movie posters and magazine covers to beer ads.
“I’m really surprised,” said a commentator on a TV Asahi news story. “I loved her beautiful appearance and absorbing performances; she was the very image of a Yamato Nadeshiko (a term for a woman who embodies the traditional virtues of Japanese femininity).
Takeuchi (left) was the star of the hit drama ‘Miss Sherlock’.
This image, as journalists and industry colleagues attest in online comments, was not a facade. Takeuchi was a meticulous professional, arriving on set ready to nail the trickier lines on the first take, and a caring person.
“The crew called her the ‘Queen of sandwiches,'” said a journalist from the Nippon Sports wrote the tabloid. “She would bring food like hard-to-find candy and seasonal dishes and tell everyone to ‘eat.’ She was very considerate of the staff. “
In addition, by all reports, Takeuchi was happy in her second marriage to fellow actor Nakabayashi Taiki, 35, who discovered her body in her Tokyo apartment early Sunday morning.
In addition to a teenage son from a previous marriage, Takeuchi had a young son born in January. In an interview for the October issues of Leeward, a women’s monthly magazine, Takeuchi said, “Now that I’m in my 40s, I don’t feel like looking back. Instead, it’s like all sorts of weight have fallen off my shoulders; I feel lighter.”
When asked how he felt about spending more time with his family due to the pandemic, he replied, “Spending a lot of time face-to-face with my family makes me feel like it’s okay to value my own life a little more. In my forties, I want to enjoy time with my family, while I have this axis called work. “
This does not answer the question of why a loved, respected, successful, and seemingly entrenched person like Takeuchi would take his own life.
Nakabayashi told reporters: “I can’t think of any reason why she would do this, she seemed to be the same as ever.”
Online commentators have cited postpartum depression, pressures from Japanese show business, and a lack of support for mental health in Japan as possible factors that contributed to Takeuchi’s suicide.
“Japan is cold in the way it thinks about the mentally ill,” wrote a commenter on the news site TV Asahi. “In terms of spiritual happiness, Japan ranks very low compared to the rest of the world,” noted another.
However, no research has so far confirmed any of the above factors. Takeuchi did not leave a suicide note. And the mystery remains.
On a TBS Sunday variety show that he hosts as master of ceremonies, veteran comedian Hikari Ota told his national audience that “Everyone has the same concerns, whether they are famous people from the past or great philosophers. You have concerns. Get them out, get help. You are not alone. “
On Japanese variety shows, where being serious about mental health is as common as unicorns, this was a sign that after a series of tragic deaths, attitudes towards a previously taboo subject may be changing. For the next victim, famous or not, change cannot come too soon. – Reuters
Do you suffer from mental health problems or are you thinking about committing suicide? Contact the Befrienders service closest to you. For a complete list of business hours and numbers, visit befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia.
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