Yukiko Okada

Yukiko Okada (岡田 有希子, Okada Yukiko, August 22, 1967 – April 8, 1986) was a Japanese idol and winner of the talent show Star Tanjō! in Tokyo, Japan.

Early life

Okada was born on August 22, 1967, the second daughter of the Satō family. The family later moved to Nagoya. In elementary school, Okada loved to read, especially comic books, and she was a talented artist. In junior high school, Okada wanted to become a singer and applied for every possible audition, anything from major productions to the smallest talent recruitment, hoping to become a star. She was rejected every time until she was finally accepted to a TV talent program, Star Tanjō! on Nippon Television – similar to Star Search - which she won in March 1983.

Career

On April 21, 1984, Okada released her first single, "First Date". She was known as "Yukko", which is a common abbreviation for the name "Yukiko" in the Japanese language.

That year, Okada won Rookie of the Year, and was awarded the 26th Japan Record Awards Grand Prix Best New Artist Award for her third single, "-Dreaming Girl- Koi, Hajimemashite".

Okada played the leading role in her first television drama Kinjirareta Mariko (The Forbidden Mariko), in 1985. Her 1986 single "Kuchibiru Network", written by Seiko Matsuda and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, reached number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986.

Death

The Sun Music building, located in Yotsuya, Tokyo

On April 8, 1986, Okada was found with a slashed wrist in her gas-filled Tokyo apartment, crouching in a closet and crying. Two hours later, Okada jumped to her death from the seven-story Sun Music Agency building. The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Her death resulted in many copycat suicides in Japan, soon christened with the neologism "Yukiko Syndrome".

Discography

Singles

• "First Date" (1984) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
• "Little Princess" (1984)
• "Dreaming Girl-Koi, Hajimemashite" (1984) Glico's "Special Chocolate" jingle
• "Futari Dake no Ceremony" (1985) Toshiba's "Let's Chat" jingle
• "Summer Beach" (1985) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
• "Kanashii Yokan" (1985)
• "Love Fair" (1985) Glico's Cecil Chocolate jingle
• "Kuchibiru Network" (1986) Kanebo's lipstick commercial
• "Hana no Image" (1986) [released posthumously]
• "Believe in You" (strings version 2002) [released posthumously]

Albums

• Cinderella (シンデレラ))
• Okurimono (贈りもの, Gift)
• Fairy
• Jyūgatsu no Ningyo (十月の人魚, October Mermaid)
• Okurimono II (贈りものII, Gift II)
• Venus Tanjō (ヴィーナス誕生, Birth of Venus)
• Okurimono III (贈りものIII, Gift III) (Heritage, released posthumously)
• All Songs Request (posthumous singles collection)