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Yuko Takeuchi had an overseas following after appearing as the female Japanese Sherlock Holmes in 2018’s Miss Sherlock. Photo: AFP

Japan’s entertainment industry reels from Yuko Takeuchi’s suicide, exposing its ‘brutal’ nature

  • The death of the ‘Miss Sherlock’ star was the latest in a string of high-profile suicides by celebrities in the country, after the likes of Hana Kimura and Sei Ashina
  • An entertainers’ association has called on the government to reform the industry and address mental health issues, but the plea has fallen on deaf ears
Japan
After the fourth high-profile suicide in five months in Japan’s acting industry –a world that at least one insider has described as “absolutely brutal” – an association representing entertainers has called on the government to introduce a system of mental health care for the profession.

The Entertainers’ Rights Association released a statement this week titled “Suicide by Entertainers”, claiming that the “highly stressful environment” of the industry is one of several factors behind the alarming number of suicides.

The association’s plea for support came just days after the death of Yuko Takeuchi, who was admitted to a hospital in Tokyo on Sunday, where she was confirmed dead. Authorities are treating the 40-year-old’s death as suicide, although no note or will was found.

Japanese broadcaster ends ‘Terrace House’ show after Hana Kimura’s death

In a statement on its website, her agency said her death “came all of a sudden … we are all stunned with shock and sadness”.

Takeuchi first appeared in a television drama in 1996 and quickly picked up roles in various television series and films, winning the Japan Academy Film Prize for best actress in a leading role for three consecutive years from 2003. She also had an overseas following after appearing as a female Sherlock Holmes in 2018’s Miss Sherlock, a collaboration between Hulu and HBO Asia.

A household name in Japan, she gave birth to her second son in January.

Takeuchi’s death comes just a few weeks after actress Sei Ashina died by suicide, while actor Haruma Miura took his own life in July. In May, Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old professional wrestler who was appearing in the hugely popular Netflix series Terrace House, killed herself after coming under withering criticism on social media sites.
Haruma Miura in a still from Attack on Titan (2015). He died by suicide in July.

Kaori Shoji, a film critic for The Japan Times, said entertainers in the country were typically in a precarious position, despite their fame.

“A big part of the problem here is that there is no union like the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood to protect or support actors and actresses,” she said.

“That makes the industry absolutely brutal,” Shoji said, adding that entertainers work for agencies, have few rights and often work for relatively poor wages. Upsetting a talent agency is invariably the end of a performer’s career – particularly when one considers many agencies have shadowy links to Japan’s yakuza underworld groups.

“Japanese corporations update and modernise their operations, but the entertainment industry lags far behind the rest of the businesses here and operates on laws and ‘codes’ that were obsolete 100 years ago,” she said, comparing entertainers’ conditions to indentured servitude.

On top of those stresses – almost certainly made worse by falling incomes and fewer opportunities due to the coronavirus pandemic – female performers faced added pressures, Shoji said.

Japan’s suicide rate is down 13.5 per cent amid the pandemic, study finds

“RIght now, there are fewer parts and more competition, and as most actors are paid by their performances, many do not have an income at the moment,” she said. “That’s a pretty precarious existence, and it’s much worse for women because they have a much shorter shelf life than men.”

Harume Miura was 30 when he killed himself in July and had for the previous decade “got by on his looks”, Shoji said. When those boyish looks began to fade, however, he had little to fall back on.

“And it’s worse for women,” she said. “Actresses typically find it very difficult to get roles after they turn 30, so Takeuchi did really well to still be working at 40, but it is likely that she would have been on the brink of despair [because of her situation].”

Vicki Skorji, director of the Tokyo-based TELL Lifeline counselling service, said suicide rates typically fell in the initial stages of a crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic, as people came together to help each other and find a way to manage.
Amid Japan’s battle against Covid-19, suicides rose 13.5 per cent in August from the corresponding month a year earlier. Photo: AP

The problem tended to manifest itself as depression and, in extreme cases, as suicide a few months later when people struggled to get to grips with the longer-term implications of the situation, she said. In cases like Takeuchi’s, that meant lost jobs, falling income, rising debt – and only more uncertainty on the horizon, she added.

“Right now, people are in a state of distress, to varying degrees, that has lasted for a lengthy period of time,” she said. “We are seeing burnout and increased anxiety because people are not designed to endure stress for an extended time. It has been acute and now we are at the chronic level.”

September is typically a more stressful time of the year in Japan as students return to school or university, which has been disrupted and is operating online, or people go back to work after not being able to enjoy a decent summer holiday because of travel restrictions.

The only positive that Skorji has seen is that people are at least talking about mental health issues, with national broadcaster NHK adding a section under its report on Takeuchi’s death with details on how anyone contemplating taking their own life can find support.

“Talking about mental health is not really the done thing in Japan, but we are now seeing calls for a conversation with those who are most vulnerable or at risk,” she said.

A lot of people that I speak with in the industry say there may very well be another wave coming
Kaori Shoji, Japan Times film critic

As far as the Japanese government goes, it only vaguely responded to Takeuchi’s death, without naming her. On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference that there “has been an uptick in the number of suicide cases since July”.

The government has not, however, replied to the Entertainers’ Rights Association’s plea for the introduction of a mental health care system for the entertainment profession.

There were 1,900 suicides in the country in August, according to government data, up 15.3 per cent from the same month a year earlier and reversing a recent trend in Japan of falling rates as a result of greater mental health awareness and available support programmes.

Yet Shoji, the Japan Times film critic, remains pessimistic that the acting profession can take positive steps on the issue due to the underlying inequalities in the industry.

“I do not know why the entertainment industry here has not or will not change, but the government has too many problems on its plate already to do something about this right now,” she said. “And while I hate to say that there will be more deaths, a lot of people that I speak with in the industry say there may very well be another wave coming.”

If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Entertainment industry reels from high-profile suicides
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