Japanese Singer, Actor Akihiro Miwa Dies at 91

Tokyo, June 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese singer Akihiro Miwa, known for "Yoitomake no Uta" and other songs, died of old age on June 20, his talent agency said on its website Sunday. He was 91.

Miwa, whose real name was Akihiro Maruyama, also worked as an actor.

Born in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki, Miwa was exposed to radiation from a U.S. atomic bomb dropped on the city on Aug. 9, 1945, in the closing days of World War II.

He moved to Tokyo and entered Kunitachi College of Music Senior High School. After dropping out of the school, Miwa started professional activities as a singer at the age of 16.

Miwa came to be known as a good-looking singer at Ginpari, a chanson cafe in Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district. His "Meke Meke" became a hit in 1957, and Yoitomake no Uta, which was written and composed by himself, gained popularity in 1965.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]