Tearful farewell to late Japanese star Miho Nakayama involving celeb friends and 10,000 fans

Straits Times

23-04-2025

A memorial service for the late Japanese singer-actress Miho Nakayama, who died in December 2024 aged 54, was held in Tokyo on April 22. PHOTO: LIVEDOORNEWS/X
Japanese singer-actress Miho Nakayama may have died in December 2024, but her fans and friends remember her fondly.
At a memorial service held for the late star in Tokyo on April 22, 800 friends and acquaintances from the entertainment industry, as well as 10,000 fans, showed up to say their last goodbyes.
Nakayama, who starred in the seminal Japanese romance film Love Letter (1995), died on Dec 6 due to an accident during a bath . She was 54.
According to reports from Japanese news outlets, the memorial hall was decorated with a large picture of Nakayama framed by an arch of flowers. Photos of her over the years, as well as some stage costumes she wore while performing, were also presented at the venue.
Stars at the service included Nakayama's lifelong friend, singer-actress Kyoko Koizumi, film-maker director Shunji Iwai and actor-singer Katori Shingo (a member of the now-disbanded J-pop boy band Smap), as well as Nakayama's younger sister, actress Shinobu Nakayama.
Koizumi, 59, teared up while giving a speech, recounting how she first met the shy Nakayama backstage in the waiting room of a TV station, when Nakayama was 16.
'You were like a frightened little kitten then,' Koizumi recalled.
The stars, who both got their start as teenage pop idols in the 1980s, quickly became fast friends.
Koizumi added: 'As we faced new challenges and developments in life, we had fewer opportunities to meet. I wondered what you were up to as I lived my busy life and thought to myself, 'No matter what, we'll definitely meet again. And there'll be so much to catch up on once we meet.' I did not expect to be standing here today... bidding farewell.'
Iwai, 62, also paid tribute to Nakayama . He directed her in his debut feature film Love Letter, in which she played dual roles – a woman who writes a letter to her dead fiance and his high school crush.
He said Nakayama was the perfect embodiment of both characters and remembered how they once spent a night singing karaoke together.
He ended his speech on a poignant note, referencing the plot of Love Letter: 'Times have changed, so (instead of a letter), I'll send you a message on (chat app) Line. Please take your time to read it in heaven... but if a 'seen' notification comes in, that will be a little creepy... Actually, no. I'll be happy, and perhaps I'll cry.'
A remastered 4K version of Love Letter was recently released in Japanese cinemas to mark the film's 30th anniversary.
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