News On Japan

Actress Shimada Yoko dies

Jul 26 (NHK) - Japanese actress Shimada Yoko has died at a hospital in Tokyo. She was 69.

Shimada was born in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in 1953.

She rose to fame as the heroine in a 1971 television series, and had since appeared in numerous films and TV dramas.

Shimada became an international star with her role in the US television miniseries "Shogun," for which she won a Golden Globe for best actress in 1981. She also appeared in NHK's year-long period dramas.

Shimada's agent and those close to her say she had been battling colon cancer for several years, and succumbed to multiple organ failure on Monday.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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