Police investigating the death of Japanese actress Miho Nakayama after she was found unresponsive in the bathtub at her home in Tokyo have revealed a possible cause of death, according to reports.
The 54-year-old was found sat upright and leaning forward in the bath, with the Metropolitan Police Department stating that there is a possibility that she may have drowned, according to local media.
The police have also suggested that her death may have been an accident or caused by illness, according to separate reports.
Ms Nakayama, affectionately known by her fans as ‘Miporin’, is best known for starring in the 1995 movie Love Letter, a film which garnered international acclaim and earned her several best actress awards.
She was widely considered Japan‘s most beautiful woman at the height of her career in the 1980s and 1990s, winning over fans as the star of numerous popular TV shows and also as a J-pop singer.
Loyal supporters continued to flock to her shows, and she had been due to perform today at a Christmas event in Osaka. The show was cancelled before the announcement of her death was made, with poor health cited as the reason.
When she failed to show up to work, a member of her team went to Ms Nakayama’s home and found her unresponsive. They called paramedics who confirmed her death at the scene, local media reports.
She had allegedly been in contact with her team last night, and yesterday posted a picture on Instagram from a modern art exhibition in Tokyo she said she had attended in recent days.
Miho Nakayama (pictured) was tragically found dead in her bath
Ms Nakayama, affectionately known by her fans as ‘Miporin’, is best known for starring in the 1995 movie Love Letter
The post shows a work by Louise Bourgeois – a piece of material embroidered with the words ‘I have been to hell and back. And let me tell you, it was wonderful’
The post shows a work by French artist Louise Bourgeois – a piece of material embroidered with the words ‘I have been to hell and back. And let me tell you, it was wonderful’.
Captioning the final post, the actress wrote: ‘I was so depressed for a few days that I could only talk to the friend I went with.’
A statement published by her agency to her website confirmed her death this morning.
‘We are stunned by the sudden occurrence of this event,’ it read, adding that her cause of death was not confirmed.
Fans who were waiting to attend her concert were emotional as the news came out of her death.
A woman in her 50s who had been due to attend the event told NHK: ‘I liked her since I was a teenager. She was always sparkling and beautiful, and I have many memories of imitating her hairstyle.
‘I can’t believe she has passed away, and I want to see her again.’
Another woman said of her idol: ‘She was the same age as me, and she was a great source of strength to me.
‘I can’t put it into words, so I’m very sad and disappointed that she has passed away. I want to tell her, “Thank you for everything.”‘
Ms Nakayama leaves behind a son, who she shared with her musician ex-husband Hitonari Tsuji and is in his custody.
The pair married in 2002 and moved to Paris, where Ms Nakayama took a break from her career and spent much of her time away from the public eye.
She later returned to Japan and resumed her career, including starring in a film in 2010.
When she failed to show up to work, a member of her team went to Ms Nakayama’s home and found her unresponsive
Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene
Japanese actress Miho Nakayama, 54, has been found dead at her home in Tokyo
The 54-year-old was best known for starring in the 1995 movie Love Letter
Love Letter (1995) garnered international acclaim and earned her several best actress awards
The popular star made her acting debut in 1985 aged just 14, in a comedy about high school students called Maido Osawagaseshimasu.
She went on to appear in a series of TV shows and films, such as A Sleeping Forest (1998) alongside the heartthrob Takuya Kimura.
Her biggest film success is widely considered to be Love Letter, which tells the story of a grieving widow who writes letters to a stranger living at her late fiancé’s address.
As a singer, she won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist for her debut song and had big hits with songs such as Tada Nakitaku No and Sekaijuu no Dare Yori Kitto, which she sang in collaboration with the rock band Wands.
In 1998, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Japanese Academy Awards for her role in Tokyo Biyori – a biological film about Yoko Aarki who was the wife of Japan’s leading photographer Nobuyoshi Araki.
Between 1985 and 2022 she appeared in 14 films, 34 TV series and 24 television movies.
On top of this, she also released 24 studio albums.
Born in Tokyo, Nakayama moved to Nagano when she was three years old with her mother and three sisters.
Her father’s name was not even on the family register and she said she only has vague memories of him.
Since she was a child, she had been interested in the entertainment industry and wanted to become a singer.
She told Japanese magazine Weekly Heibon that she wanted to appear on TV and be noticeable, so people would ‘scream’ if she was in front of them.
Ms Nakayama is pictured with Korean actor and model Kim Jae-Wook in 2017
In 1985, aged just 15, her career took off as she released her debut single ‘C’, became the host of two radio shows and her film debut in the movie Be-Bop High School.
By the end of the year she became the youngest person to ever win the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist.
For the next ten years, Nakayama juggled a career as both a singer and an actress, leading up to her most famous role in the film ‘Love Letter’ in 1995.
Between 1999 and 2019, she took a 20-year break from music but continued to appear in films and television series.
In both 2023, she launched her first nationwide tour in 24 years and continued to tour throughout this year.
During her breakout year in 1985, Japanese magazine Aera reported that Nakayama ‘cherished’ her fans who loved her unconditionally and at first wrote back to every letter she received.