Visual director Sueda Ken died last Wednesday of germinoma, a tumor of the brain, it was revealed yesterday. He was just 33. His death was announced by the management agency of pop group Dreams Come True, as Sueda was the common-law husband of vocalist Yoshida Miwa (42) and he directed many of the group’s videos. The couple married in May 2004 but never registered their marriage. Though Sueda had been undergoing treatment for some time, his condition took a turn for the worse just as DCT started a concert tour in early August. Despite the busy concert schedule, Yoshida spent every free moment at her husband’s side until the tour ended on September 23. Her musical partner Nakamura Masato (49) described on his blog how Sueda has made her promise to give her all on stage no matter what happened offstage. DCT’s new single “A-i-shi-te-ru no Sain” goes on sale this week and the group are currently recording an album due for release in December. But Nakamura says he will wait until Yoshida is ready to sing again before taking on any kind of PR engagements.
• Veteran folk singer Yoshida Takuro (61) is back on the road again. After a series of canceled shows due to health problems, his nationwide “Life is a Voyage” concert tour got started again in Kumamoto yesterday. Showing no after effects of the tonsillitis or bronchitis that kept him off stage for a month, he was in good voice as he performed 21 songs over two and a half hours.