Yukiko Okada
岡田 有希子
Yukiko Okada in 1984
Born	Kayo Satō (佐藤 佳代)[1] (1967-08-22)August 22, 1967 Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
Died	April 8, 1986(1986-04-08) (aged 18) Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Cause of death	Suicide by jumping from height
Burial place	Aisai,Aichi
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Yukko
Education	Nagoya Koyo Senior High School [ja][2] Horikoshi High School[3]
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1983–1986
Era	Showa
Agent	Sun Music [ja]
Label	Canyon
Musical career
Genres	Kayokyoku[4]
Musical artist
Signature

Yukiko Okada (岡田 有希子,Okada Yukiko, August 22, 1967 – April 8, 1986) was a Japanese singer and actress, active in the mid-1980s. After winning a nationwide television show at age 15 in 1983, she debuted as anidol in 1984. Her death bysuicide two years later led to a number ofcopycat suicides, a phenomenon that would bear her name.

Yukiko Okada was born asSatō Kayo (佐藤佳代) on August 22, 1967, the second daughter of the Satō family. The family later moved toNagoya. In elementary school, Okada loved to read, especially manga, 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! onNippon Television – similar toStar Search, though the final stage was her singing to get interest from talent agents – singing Kitahara Sawako's "MY BOYFRIEND" for the audition, andAkina Nakamori's "Slow Motion" for the final round, which she won in March 1983.^{[citation needed]}

Okada made her debut in 1984,^[1] when on April that year, she released her first single, "First Date", written by composer and singerMariya Takeuchi. She was nicknamed "Yukko" (ユッコ) by her fans, which is a common abbreviation for the name "Yukiko" in the Japanese language.^{[citation needed]} Her smile bore the same name: the "Yukko smile".^[5]

Okada won Rookie of the Year in the year of her debut,^{[citation needed]}. and she was awarded the26th Japan Record Awards Grand Prix Best New Artist Award^[3] for her third single, "-Dreaming Girl- Koi, Hajimemashite", also written by Takeuchi.^[6][7]

Okada played the leading role in her first television dramaKinjirareta Mariko (The Forbidden Mariko), in 1985. Her 1986 single"Kuchibiru Network" [ja], written by singerSeiko Matsuda, and composed byRyuichi Sakamoto,^[8] reached number one on theOricon weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986.^{[citation needed]} (It was later covered by idol girl groupSunmyu as its debut song in 2013.)^[9]

On April 8, 1986, Okada was found with a slashed wrist in her gas-filled Tokyo apartment, crouching in a closet and crying.^[1] She was discovered by a rescue team called in by the apartment's manager after other residents noticed the smell of gas. Okada's manager eventually arrived and took her to nearbyKita Aoyama Hospital [ja], where her injuries were treated.^{[citation needed]}

In a 2016 article on theAsahi Weekly, Sun Music former managing director^[10] Tokio Fukuda recalled that Sun Music founder Hideyoshi Aizawa called him to pick up Okada from the hospital. When he met her, she was crying softly. He then asked her where she wanted to go: to her parents' home in Nagoya, her apartment, or the office. She replied that the office was good, so she was brought to the sixth floor of the Sun Music building. Aizawa then called Fukuda, leading him to step out.

While Fukuda, the management director and the staff were discussing how to avoid a media scandal,^[8][11] Okada ran to the stairs, went to the roof of the seven-story building, took off her shoes, and jumped, resulting in instant death. It was 12:15 PM JST.^[1][5]

The reason for the suicide is unclear. Okada was reported to have been "upset and depressed about an unhappy love affair",^[12] with an actor described to be "old enough to be her father",^[1]Tōru Minegishi,^[11][13] a co-star inKinjirareta Mariko. Minegishi said that "he thought of her more as a younger sister".^[13] When asked if a relationship with Minegishi was the cause, Fukuda replied that he did not know^[8] or denied it, speculating that Okada's second suicide attempt was due to theshame that the first attempt would bring to Sun Music.^[11]

Okada's remains were cremated,^[1] and were interred at the Jōman-ji Temple,^[3]Inuyama,Aichi Prefecture,^[14] Japan.

Her fans were shocked and shattered by her untimely death. It resulted in manycopycat suicides in Japan,^[12] soon christened with theneologism "Yukiko Syndrome"^[12] or "Yukko Syndrome."^[15][1] By April 26, 1986, 23 out of 36 youth suicides since Okada died were committed by also jumping off a building.^[16]

In turn, it has been suggested that Okada may have had in mind idolYasuko Endō, who also committed suicide by falling from a rooftop ten days earlier.^[15][1]

A ninth single, scheduled for release on April 14, 1986, was postponed on fears of more suicides.^[1] The single, "花のイマージュ" (Hana no Image), was eventually released in March 1999 included in "Memorial Album".

Mariya Takeuchi covered three of the songs she wrote for Okada on her fortieth anniversary albumTurntable. A compilation album of all eleven songs Takeuchi wrote for Okada,Yukiko Okada Mariya's Songbook, was released in 2019,^[6][7] and debuted at no. 13 on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart on October 28, 2019.^[17]

In the July 30, 2017 edition of the Chunichi Sport, it was mentioned that on July 29, 2017, a fan meeting was held at the 9th floor of the Tokai Radio Headquarters in Nagoya to celebrate what would have been the 50th birthday of Yukiko Okada in August 2017. Entitled "Sing again! Yukko!", this was organized by 'Dotore Yamaguchi's Dokidoki Radio', '84/ Dr. Sato Yamaguchi in cooperation with Tokai Radio Magazine House, Pony Canyon, and Sun Music. It was a time to remember the life of Yukiko Okada through pictures presentation and songs and displayed other memorabilia.

During her life, Okada released 4 original albums, 3 compilation albums, 10 physical singles and 2 home-video releases.

• Note: All releases after April 1986 are posthumous.

Notes:

• Golden☆Idol (ゴールデン☆アイドル) (Compilation album of all her eight released singles and b-sides plus her unreleased ninth single and b-sid.e) (2014)
• Present (プレゼント) (Compilation album of non-album tracks except for b-sides of singles from previously existing albums. Released as part of her Hi-Res album reissue campaign.) (2015)
• Yukiko Okada Mariya's Songbook (posthumous compilation album of songs sung by Yukiko Okada written and composed byMariya Takeuchi) (CD released October 16, 2019, Analog LP released April 20, 2020)^[20][21]

Notes:

• Memorial Box (メモリアルBOX) (First compilation and box set to be released since her death. Includes her two Okurimino compilations, her final album "Venus Tanjou", and the previously unreleased single, "Hana no Image" coupled with "Himitsu no Symphony".) (1999)
• Okurimono III (贈りものIII,Gift III) (Box set containing all her four albums plus non-album singles, DVD including promo videos, and other previously unreleased material.) (2002)
• 7 Inch Single Complete (Box set containing all her 8 singles along with posthumous single "Hana no Image" being released as an inch single for the first time ever)

• Yukiko Okada page onPony Canyon
• Yukiko Okada onMyspace

• 1967 births
• 1986 deaths
• Singers from Nagoya
• Japanese women pop singers
• Japanese idols
• Japanese women television personalities
• Suicides by jumping in Japan
• Suicides in Tokyo
• Pony Canyon artists
• People of Shōwa-era Japan
• 20th-century Japanese actresses
• 20th-century Japanese women singers
• 20th-century Japanese singers
• Singing talent show winners
• 1986 suicides
• 20th-century Japanese women pianists
• Horikoshi High School alumni

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