Japanese actress Kazuko Yoshiyuki has died. She was 90.
She died from pneumonia at a hospital located in Tokyo on September 2, according to The Japan News.
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The award-winning actress had an an incredible acting career that lasted for eight decades, and has starred in over a hundred different Japanese television shows. She made her screen debut in 1955, and seemingly continued to work up until her death, as she has several projects set to release in 2026.
To American audiences, she is best known for her voice acting roles in two Studio Ghibli films, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and When Marnie Was There, and for her role in the live-action adaptations of Naoki Urasawa’s wildly popular series 20th Century Boys.
Yoshiyuki had a starring role in the 2008 film Departures, which was the first Japanese film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In addition, she also appeared in some of the biggest Japanese films of the 20th century that are well-known by film buffs across the globe, like Toshiya Fujita’s beloved action-drama Lady Snowblood and Takeshi Kitano’s Kikujiro.
Her last roles will be in the films Kaneko Fumiko: Because I Wanted To, set to release in 2026, and Diamonds in the Sand, which currently has no release date.
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