Early yesterday morning, popular TV announcer Kawada Ako was found dead in her car just a few hundred meters from her Tokyo apartment. Police are treating it as a suicide. She was 29. Along with a suicide note, a gas stove and charcoal were found in the Mercedes sports car, indicating a common form of suicide from carbon monoxide fumes. She recently indicated on her blog that she was struggling with some kind of problem, but didn’t specify what it was. Her management agency expressed their shock at the news yesterday, saying they had been aware of some problem but that Kawada had been working as usual and had reassured them that she’d be fine. She appeared as usual on the “Saturday Scramble” show on Saturday. Talento Dave Spector said she had seemed even perkier than usual, but speculated that she had been compensating for some deeper anxieties. Announcer Torigoe Shuntarou (68), with whom she co-hosted a BS Asahi satellite show since April, said he felt like he had lost a daughter. He said Kawada emailed him on Saturday and thanked him for his encouragement and support. He added that he had considered emailing her back on Sunday, but that it might have seemed too forward. A doctor commenting on the case said that one symptom Kawada had mentioned on her blog suggested she may have been suffering side effects from sleeping pills. A native of Ishikawa Prefecture, Kawada joined TBS in 2002 and went freelance in 2007.
• Talento Ogura Yuko (24) is dating the 34-year-old president of an estate agency company, according to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Flash.” The two were spotted at a recent Yomiuri Giants-Hiroshima Carp baseball game at Tokyo Dome, after which they ate at a yakiniku restaurant and hung out with players including Giants ace closer Marc Kroon. Ogura has confirmed the relationship, something she refused to do with her rumored romance last year with comedian Hamaguchi Masaru (36).
Newlyweds Mariah Carey (38) and Nick Cannon (27) arrived in Tokyo yesterday to promote her latest album. It’s Cannon’s first time in Japan, while his wife was last here in October 2006. Carey greeted the 400 fans who turned out to welcome them at Narita Airport with the Japanese phrase “Tadaima!” (I’m home!). Asked how she was enjoying married life, she said simply “Very nice.” The couple will be in Japan until June 3, and Carey will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Giants-Golden Eagles game at Tokyo Dome tomorrow night.