Japanese actress Yuko Takeuchi, 40, found dead at home in apparent suicide

RIP.

The story should be carefully reported in accordance to the prevention guideline. Suicide is contagious.

What a terrible waste of a life, very sad. The impact on her children will be life long. One cannot but wonder what drove her to it, but of that there is no mention in the article and this site is not very good at follow up stories so we will probably never hear.

Is it common in Japanese suicides to not leave a note?

She had a young baby. I wonder if she was dealing with postpartum depression.

Wow, this is a case I'd like to know more about. Why a successful young woman of 40 with 2 kids would do herself in like that, I just can't imagine. I just turned 40, so I guess that is why this struck a cord in me. My life has had challenges because I'm totally gay, but suicide is simply not an option for me. I'd never do it.

RIP.

Every other English language report that I've seen about this has at least included TELL's contact info (https://telljp.com Tel:03-5774-0992). STressful times so please take care all and don't be shy to get help if needed. We all need support at times. Myself included.

Typical of Kyodo news's amateur reporting not to include it and shame on JapanToday for not doing so either in their rush to get the news out.

I do not know her therefore I have no judgment to make regarding the situation. Peace be with you anywhere you may be.

Gotta feel sorry for here kids. One is only 8 months old and will never remember his mother. I have no sympathy for her.

Agree that media reporting needs to be extremely careful and sensitive on this as with all other suicide reporting given its indeed contagious nature. This is the one particular decision that no one else will be able to fully comprehend and that which you will never have the chance to regret, which I assume many would if they did.

There have been a number of apparent suicides by actors, actresses, and celebrities here of late. For all the years they spend in the limelight, one never knows what is going on behind the scenes.

RIP you will be missed!

May God rests Her soul in peace.

Amen.

If this was suicide, it is very selfish in her part given that she has an infant child born this January. Did she ever think of the impact this will have on her children? Awful.

Suicide in Japan, unfortunately, is not only common in the show business.

This society is sick. And, since the tradition is not to change ... the traditions, the suicide appears to be the best escape from a life you don't want.

I am not a big fan of Japanese TV dramas or movies but I have read many news about her in the past and know she was very famous. She had many oversea fans and they are now mourning her death.

She had a young baby. I wonder if she was dealing with postpartum depression.

Some news reports in Hong Kong have indeed claimed a Japanese movie director has said she was dealing with postpartum depression.

If this was suicide, it is very selfish in her part given that she has an infant child born this January. Did she ever think of the impact this will have on her children? Awful.

It is alleged that she was suffering postpartum depression.

Gotta feel sorry for here kids. One is only 8 months old and will never remember his mother. I have no sympathy for her.

It is an absolute tragedy for the kids.

She didn't hang herself for the fun of it - she was in a mental state where she couldn't think rationally.

Whether you were going to dispense your sympathy or not was probably not a factor.

What a shock. After Haruma Miura, and Sei Ashina, this is another apparently successful actor/actress who has taken their own life. Admittedly we can't know the individual circumstances but these aren't people who seem to be facing economic hardships or other obvious reasons to take their own lives. Totally puzzling. Last time I felt this way was when Anthony Bourdain committed suicide in 2017.

gakinotsukaiToday  05:21 pm JST

Suicide in Japan, unfortunately, is not only common in the show business.

This society is sick. And, since the tradition is not to change ... the traditions, the suicide appears to be the best escape from a life you don't want.

Japan is number 14 in the 2020 global suicide rate list.

The poor woman, and her poor family.

Post-partum depression is what I immediately thought of when I read that she had recently given work. It is a mental disorder which can be very severe.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Postpartum depression may be mistaken for baby blues at first — but the signs and symptoms are more intense and last longer, and may eventually interfere with your ability to care for your baby and handle other daily tasks. Symptoms usually develop within the first few weeks after giving birth, but may begin earlier ― during pregnancy ― or later — up to a year after birth.

Postpartum depression signs and symptoms may include:

Depressed mood or severe mood swings

Excessive crying

Difficulty bonding with your baby

Withdrawing from family and friends

Loss of appetite or eating much more than usual

Inability to sleep (insomnia) or sleeping too much

Overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy

Reduced interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy

Intense irritability and anger

Fear that you're not a good mother

Hopelessness

Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy

Diminished ability to think clearly, concentrate or make decisions

Restlessness

Severe anxiety and panic attacks

Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Untreated, postpartum depression may last for many months or longer.

Postpartum psychosis

With postpartum psychosis — a rare condition that typically develops within the first week after delivery — the signs and symptoms are severe. Signs and symptoms may include:

Confusion and disorientation

Obsessive thoughts about your baby

Hallucinations and delusions

Sleep disturbances

Excessive energy and agitation

Paranoia

Attempts to harm yourself or your baby

Postpartum psychosis may lead to life-threatening thoughts or behaviors and requires immediate treatment.

Mental health negative feelings are nothing to be ashamed of. You are not human if at some point in your life things seem dark. Talking about it helps, and listening without judging can help more than people know. Look, listen, learn, never ever tell someone to get over it!

@Maria, thanks for bringing and highlighting crucial points of this type of problem, if any one can see these markers in their partner or friend hopefully they can get them off to a doctor for treatment quickly.

People vote down every comment that isn't full on with sympathy for her, but it really is the kids who will suffer, especially the 12 year old. I speak from experience. They will suffer from her absence. They will constantly blame themselves and think they could have saved her somehow. And underneath all that will be a profound sense of abandonment by the person they relied on most.

Whatever her reasons or state of mind, the bottom line is that she abandoned her children. In giving up life, she also gave up them. She chose death over them. That's a profoundly painful thing for any child. She is at peace now, and doesn't need sympathy from strangers. Spare some for her kids. This is why suicide should simply never be an option if one has children who depend on them on love them.

I don’t know this actress as my tv is YouTube and Netflix but RIP! Life is to short to take it away and especially when she gave birth last February based on other news.

This is why suicide should simply never be an option if one has children who depend on them on love them

It is sadly the last option that people don't rationally choose. It ain't simply a matter of options.

the people saying that they have no sympathy for her because the two boys will grow up without a mother ( not fair, absolutely ) probably never had to deal with a depression or suicidal thoughts. if it was that easy ( “you have a family” ...... “you’re rich” ...... “feel blessed for what you have” ... ), then suicide wouldn’t be this huge problem it is today. complex, hard to understand / hard to accept. support - that’s what we need to do. remind each other that we’re not alone. sometimes just a simple thing like making a call. remember, “The world is more than you know”.

commanteer. Below is something about "Mental illnesses" found online:

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental illness is common.

Mental illness itself occurs from the interaction of multiple genes and other factors -- such as stress, abuse, or a traumatic event -- which can influence, or trigger, an illness in a person who has an inherited susceptibility to it.

If she had cancer and died from it then I bet nobody would criticise her. But when she dies of suicide due to an illness that attacks her mind then people says she is a coward. Mental illness is a disease caused by stress or other things that attack a person's sanity. It is just like other diseases that caused by a bacteria or virus infections that attacks a person's body. If she was in her right mind and felt sick of looking after her kids and decided to quit she could just leave them and started another life. Instead she decided to kill herself! This means she could not think properly because of the illness she was suffering.

Calling someone selfish for committing suicide shows a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of suicide. A person who commits suicide has often convinced him/herself that he/she is actually doing others a favor by doing it. Yes, it looks weak, selfish etc. on the surface but the human brain is not that simple. Stupid comments about suicide should be removed.

Yuko Takeuchi, left no note.

What a truly shocking waste.

Later, Yuko Takeuchi children will have questions without any resolution.

Depression, society need to find a solution, I wish I had more informed knowledge.

I cared for my grandmother right up until passing.

Those that have 'no sympathy,' clearly have no experience or understanding of depression and mental illness. Good for you, count yourself very lucky.

She can't be an Idol, an actress, a mother, a lover, or even a wife!!! people with such status and responsibilities will not cause so much pain and suffering behind.

What a selfish person.

If she had cancer and died from it then I bet nobody would criticise her. But when she dies of suicide due to an illness that attacks her mind then people says she is a coward. Mental illness is a disease caused by stress or other things that attack a person's sanity.

You have a point. But it's also easy to explain away a selfish act this way. Most people with a brain have felt suicidal at times when things go wrong. I can say with certainty that I would never do that to my kids, no matter how much pain I was in. Maybe because I have experienced the other side of that equation.

Nobody here knows what the real situation was. The only thing we do know is that her kids will suffer, and she will not any more - whatever people say. So why not spare the sympathy for the kids?

> Stupid comments about suicide should be removed.

What do you know of suicide that makes you an expert on which comments are stupid? Someone's personal experience with it is stupid? Not very empathetic.

I am agreeing with the pop diagnosis of post-partum depression. But it happened before. In 2008, she had her first son and then went thru the emotional upheaval of a divorce in the same year. Then in 2020, she has her second son and has another emotional upheaval and commits suicide in the same year. Unfortunately, no one around, close enough to her, was able to see a pattern and intervene prior to this.

I have a suicidal wife and this is not helping

commanteer

I know that it's stupid to call people who kill themselves selfish. That's a very convenient, simple-minded reaction to a far more complicated thing. That's what I meant.

You have a point. But it's also easy to explain away a selfish act this way. Most people with a brain have felt suicidal at times when things go wrong. 

No. When a normal person with a right mind would quit and move on when things go wrong. A normal human being will try to stay alive rather than die. Feeling suicidal is aleady a sign a person is suffering mental illness.

Maybe because I have experienced the other side of that equation

Exactly. You have no idea. Suicidal thoughts are not the same thing as chronic depression and mental illness

I know that it's stupid to call people who kill themselves selfish.

Here's the thing. When a mother commits suicide, people come out of the woodwork to express their sympathy and talk about how they wished they could have helped. 99% of those same people never lifted a finger to help when that person was still alive. That ship sailed. Instead, they talk about what a saint she was and how she must have suffered - meanwhile offering little but a pat on the head to the children who are still alive and actually suffering. Basically repeating the indifference they have to actual suffering. The kids will continue suffering without anyone who cares, because the person who was supposed to care for them is gone - and now sainted in the eyes of those same hypocrites. The ultimate in hypocrisy.

May your soul RIP...

commanteer

That has nothing to do with the mother being selfish, does it?

R.I.P

You will always be remembered and missed.

What a shock. After Haruma Miura, and Sei Ashina, this is another apparently successful actor/actress who has taken their own life. 

Could be a coincidence, but she was recently in a movie with Haruma Miura, and the two were good friends. Miura even said Takeuchi was the ideal woman. Perhaps there was something more there. Either way, we'll probably never know. Just can't think of any other reason for her to do this...

Here's the thing. When a mother commits suicide, people come out of the woodwork to express their sympathy and talk about how they wished they could have helped. 99% of those same people never lifted a finger to help when that person was still alive.

There are fair weather friends and fair weather fans as well. If you hop on the net auctions, anything related to her has been selling for a ton. People always hop on the bandwagon of dead celebrities as if they were their biggest fans.

Such sad news, for her and her family. RIP

Especially sad as this was likely preventable due to her experience in the past but we won't ever know what drove her to this final decision, perhaps in a dueressed and confused state.

Something is seriously wrong with that part of society not only in Japan, but greater Asia. Celebrities in Japan and South Korea in particular seem prone to suicide.

It doesn't seem to happen that often with celebrities in other parts of the world.

The first thing of hers that I saw was Queen of Lunch back in the day, and then a few years later Yomigaeri. I'm really sorry to hear this news, and pray for the peace of her loved-ones.

While there are an unknown number of reasons she might have chosen this, one thing I've come to fear lately are the various depression or anxiety-related medications that people are taking. The television commercials warn that suicidal tendencies can be a side affect of many of them, and I can't help but wonder if she was taking a prescribed med that lowered her inhibitions. Regardless, I hope her friends and family rally around her little ones, because they are going to need that long-term love and support as they deal with the loss of their mom.

As a fan, I'll just remember that she was talented and beautiful, with an infectious smile.

Something is seriously wrong with that part of society not only in Japan, but greater Asia. Celebrities in Japan and South Korea in particular seem prone to suicide.

It doesn't seem to happen that often with celebrities in other parts of the world.

The entertainment industry in these two countries is rife with darkest happenings that one would not wish on one's worst enemy...and yes, criminal syndicates are very much a part of the equation.

The financial rewards that enable them to afford 7+ million yen annual kindergarten fees for their progeny come at a price. Pressure that can eat away and destroy even the most visibly well adjusted.

Not everyone grew up in ideal situations and this has a major knock on effect to who you become as an adult. Suicide is viewed as a selfish act by many, most of the being from Secure family up brings and lucky enough to never go to the dark places in our souls. Buddha said life is suffering, some know it more than others! Pity her!

It's all relative I guess. Unlucky for her kids.

As the song goes...

That game of life is hard to play

I'm gonna lose it anyway

The losing card I'll someday lay

So this is all I have to say

Suicide is painless

It brings on many changes

And I can take or leave it if I please

RIP.

So Common here, flat out selfish.

Terrible selfish act, leaving 2 young children. She was blessed and given much, but obviously suffered from depression. A forgiving heart is important and perfection is not always required. Sad indeed.

"Something is seriously wrong with that part of society not only in Japan, but greater Asia. Celebrities in Japan and South Korea in particular seem prone to suicide."

I was thinking about this comparison. This is (by my count) the fourth suicide of a Japanese celebrity since the end of May, following Kimura Hana on 23 May, Miura Haruma on 18 July, and Ashina Sei on 14 September. But my impression is that the situation for celebrities in South Korea remains much worse, with far more vicious verbal attacks on social media taking place more frequently.

It doesn't seem to happen that often with celebrities in other parts of the world.

I wouldn't bet on it. Are there stats ? I think you should include drug overdosing (if that happens in Japan, you're just told it's suicide because the agency wants to protect their reputation).

it is a shame. she was successful.

but, nothing is more important than human life.

unfortanately, suicide is very prevalent in japan. sad

@Mark

”So Common here, flat out selfish.”

grow up

@ Biggest and Hustle. Exactly, that was incredibly selfish of her but let me add a lot of mothers here make a paltry pretend attempt to suicide and then kill their children but luckily the innocent ones are ok this time so I will giver her credit for not harming them.

There are some news articles that the public should not be allowed to comment on either good or bad and this is one of them. JT please remember her family and friends will read the comments.

I can't believe no one around her noticed anything.

Plus the fact that she apparently didn't leave a note.

The postmortem might clear some of this up.

Very suspicious.

a beautiful and talent actress. rip.

R.I.P Yuko Takeuchi.

JT please remember her family and friends will read the comments.

I highly doubt they will read comments on Japan Today...

So many experts on mental health. :)

Doubtless she had problems. Problems are good. Problems are a challenge. Problems are one sure sign of life. People should always be mindful of this.