Tohru Watanabe

was a Japanese actor and singer. He starred in Taiyō ni Hoero!, Yoake no Runner (1983), and (1984), and won the 1985 Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. He released several singles, one of which topped at #2 on the Oricon Singles Chart.

Biography Early life Watanabe was born on 12 May 1961 in Oyama, Tochigi. He later attended the Bungakuza Theatre Institute and joined the agency in 1985. Media career In 1981, he debuted as Junji Takemoto/Rugger in the TV drama Taiyō ni Hoero!, before starring in the 1984 Nippon TV drama . The Yomiuri Shimbun noted that he had a reputation for his cheerful personality. Illness and death Watanabe suffered from chronic health problems. He was reportedly a voracious eater, consuming 6,000 calories a day, and he normally ate six meals a day, including three bento boxes during filming. He resumed activities in July 2021. He dropped out of several planned stage performances due to his illness that year.

On 19 November 2022, his final appearance before his death was a remote appearance at the Akita University Medical Forum; despite his precautionary negative COVID test, the forum had gone remote. After returning to Tokyo the next day, he was diagnosed with bacterial gastroenteritis and hospitalized. He died of sepsis at 9:01 p.m. on 28 November 2022. He was 61.

A family funeral was held in Tokyo on 5 December, with his eldest son as the chief mourner, and the same day his wife and eldest son held a joint press conference about his death. His dharma name was "". A farewell ceremony was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa on 28 March 2023, with approximately 1,200 people in attendance.

Personal life After co-starring together in Kaze no Naka no Aitsu, Watanabe married singer and actress Ikue Sakakibara in October 1987. The couple had two children, actors and Takuya. In 1993, after reports surfaced that he had been having an affair with a 27-year-old model for more than nine months; he denied the affair at a press conference.

Watanabe had also spoken about his experiences with death threats made by a maternal uncle against his father.

Watanabe loved mayonnaise so much that he secretly consumed it even though his wife, worried about his health, limited the condiment in the household.

Filmography Sorobanzuku (1986) (1987), Hiroshi Kiyomitsu (2017), Ken'ichirō Mashio (2018), Takashi Furuya Discography Albums

Singles Title Year Details Peak chart positions Sales JPN 1982 Released: 1982 Label: Epic/Sony — — 1982 Released: 25 August 1982 Label: Epic/Sony 2 — 1982 Released: 10 December 1982 Label: Epic/Sony 6 — 1983 Released: 21 May 1983 1983 Released: 21 September 1983 Label: Epic/Sony 21 — 1984 Released: 1 May 1984 Label: Epic/Sony — — 1985 Released: 1985 Label: Epic/Sony — — 1986 Released: 1 February 1986 Label: Epic/Sony — — 1991 Released: 10 April 1991 Label: Warner Pioneer — — (with 1995 Released: 27 September 1995 Label: Toshiba EMI — —

Awards Year Award Category Work(s) Result Ref. 1982 20th Golden Arrow Awards Golden Arrow Award for Best Newcomer in Broadcasting 1985 9th Elan d'or Awards Newcomer of the Year Himself 2000 26th Theater Award Teppei Ōmori in and Yamauchi Kazutoyo in