Actress Ohara Reiko was recently found dead at her home in the Tokyo suburb of Setagaya. She was 62. She was found by a police officer called by a relative who became worried after repeated failed attempts to reach the actress. Ohara joined the Toei movie studio in the mid 1960s and established herself as a supporting actress next to such stars as Takakura Ken and Umemiya Tatsuo. She later moved to the world of TV dramas where starring roles soon made her the most popular actress in the country. But she is perhaps best remembered for her line in a commercial for Suntory Red whisky: “Sukoshi aishite, nagaku aishite” (love me a little, love me long). She herself was twice married and twice divorced, to actor Watase Tsunehiko and enka star Mori Shinichi. Since 1999 she battled a disease known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. The condition forced her to cut back on her workload, though she made occasional TV and stage appearances. In November 2008, she suffered a broken wrist and injured her knee in a fall at her home.
Watch one of Ohara’s famous Suntory commercials:
Sukoshi aishite, nagaku aishite
• The latest developments in the disappearance of Sakai Noriko. The star hasn’t been seen since the drug arrest of her husband on Sunday night. Police started a search for Sakai and her 10-year-old son following a request from her mother-in-law and management agency. A signal from her mobile phone was detected in the Minobusan mountain area of Yamanashi Prefecture on Tuesday night, close to where she lived as a child with her stepmother and late father. A report this morning said that the current whereabouts of her stepmother are also unknown. Meanwhile, it was revealed last night that Sakai left her son in the care of an acquaintance before leaving Tokyo on Monday.