One of Japan’s most influential entertainers, Akihiro Miwa, has passed away at the age of 91. In a statement released on its official website following the announcement, his agency said Miwa died of natural causes associated with old age on the morning of June 20.
The agency also thanked Miwa’s supporters who stood by him throughout a career spanning more than seven decades. Miwa’s final words were a simple “thank you,” expressing his gratitude before peacefully passing away. The agency concluded the announcement by revealing that it had been entrusted with a handwritten message prepared by Miwa during his lifetime.
“In a world like this, the only weapon to survive is the words of love. The key to solving all problems is love. If there is love, wars will never happen.”
Akihiro Miwa
Akihiro Miwa was born in Nagasaki in 1935 and survived the devastating atomic bombing of the city at age 10. Although Miwa escaped serious physical injury during the tragedy, the experience deeply influenced his lifelong commitment to peace advocacy, humanitarian causes, and the preservation of postwar Japan’s spiritual and cultural values. Miwa first moved to Tokyo at the age of 17, where he began building a career as a cabaret singer performing French chanson favorites in the city’s Ginza district. As he rose to prominence, Miwa’s social consciousness remained strong and is reflected in what would later become his signature song Yoitomake no Uta, which he both wrote and composed.
Miwa also appeared in several commercially successful films and eventually ventured into voice acting. He starred in the 1968 film Black Lizard, directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on his close friend Yukio Mishima’s stage adaptation of the novel by Rampo Edogawa. The following year, he also appeared in Black Rose Mansion, another film directed by Fukasaku. Miwa also co-hosted the television program Ora no izumi alongside spiritualist Hiroyuki Ehara and musician Taichi Kokubun. On June 28, Ehara took to YouTube to express his condolences.
As a voice actor, Miwa was best known for voicing the 300-year-old wolf goddess Moro in Princess Mononoke, as well as the evil Witch of the Waste in Howl’s Moving Castle, both directed by Hayao Miyazaki. His co-star in Howl’s Moving Castle, Takuya Kimura, who voiced the titular character Howl, paid tribute to Miwa via an Instagram Story. Miwa’s last credited voice acting role was as Arceus in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life in 2009. In 2014, Miwa narrated the NHK morning drama Hanako to Anne. Miwa was hospitalized in 2019 after suffering a mild cerebral infarction but was later discharged and continued appearances and commentary.
Source: Akihiro Miwa Official Website
Thumbnail Credit: GQ Japan
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