Yukiko Okada
Kayo Satō, known professionally as Yukiko Okada (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 an idol in 1984. Her death by suicide two years later led to a number of copycat suicides, a phenomenon that would bear her name.
Also recorded as Okada Yukiko · Kayo Satō
Yukiko Okada
- Name
- Yukiko Okada
- Birth Name
- Kayo Satō
- Born
- 22 August 1967
- Birthplace
- Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
- Died
- 8 April 1986
- Place of death
- Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
- Education
- * Nagoya Koyo Senior High School
- Occupation
- Singer, actress
- Full name
- 佐藤 佳代.
- Nationality
- Japan.
- Fields
- J-pop.
- Honours
- Golden Arrow Award.
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Kayo Satō, known professionally as Yukiko Okada (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 an idol in 1984. Her death by suicide two years later led to a number of copycat suicides, a phenomenon that would bear her name.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Yukiko Okada studied at Horikoshi High School and Nagoya City Sawakami Junior High School. The recorded working language is Japanese. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are J-pop. Employment is recorded with Sun Music Production. Distinctions recorded are Golden Arrow Award.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Yukiko Okada • Birth Name — Kayo Satō • Other Names — Yukko • Born — 22 August 1967 • Birthplace — Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan • Died — 8 April 1986 • Place of death — Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan • Death Cause — Suicide by jumping from height • Burial Place — Aisai, Aichi • Education — * Nagoya Koyo Senior High School • Horikoshi High School • Agent — Sun Music (music label)Sun Music • Occupation — Singer, actress • Years Active — 1983–1986 • Era — Showa • Label Name — Canyon
Early life
Early life
Yukiko Okada was born as Kayo Satō 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 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! on Nippon Television – similar to Star Search, though the final stage was her singing to get interest from talent agents – singing Kitahara Sawako's "MY BOYFRIEND" for the audition, and Akina Nakamori's "Slow Motion" for the final round, which she won in March 1983.
Career
Career
Okada made her debut in 1984, when on April that year, she released her first single, "First Date", written by composer and singer Mariya Takeuchi. She was nicknamed "Yukko" (ユッコ) by her fans, which is a common abbreviation for the name "Yukiko" in the Japanese language. Her smile bore the same name: the "Yukko smile". Okada won Rookie of the Year in the year of her debut,. and she was awarded the 26th Japan Record Awards Grand Prix Best New Artist Award for her third single, "-Dreaming Girl- Koi, Hajimemashite", also written by Takeuchi. Okada played the leading role in her first television drama, in 1985. Her 1986 single "Kuchibiru Network", written by singer Seiko Matsuda, and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, reached number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986. (It was later covered by idol girl group Sunmyu as its debut song in 2013.)
Death
Death
• Illustration — 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. 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 nearby Kita Aoyama Hospital, where her injuries were treated. In a 2014 article on the Asahi Weekly, Sun Music former managing director 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, 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. The reason for the suicide is unclear. Okada was reported to have been "upset and depressed about an unhappy love affair", with an actor described to be "old enough to be her father", Tōru Minegishi, a co-star in Kinjirareta Mariko. Minegishi said that "he thought of her more as a younger sister". When asked if a relationship with Minegishi was the cause, Fukuda replied that he did not know or denied it, speculating that Okada's second suicide attempt was due to the shame that the first attempt would bring to Sun Music. Okada's remains were cremated, and were interred at the Jōman-ji Temple, Aisai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Singles
Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions • Year — Single — Peak chart positions — Formats • JPN Oricon • 1984 — "First Date" — 20 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Little Princess" — 14 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Dreaming Girl-Koi, Hajimemashite" — 7 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • 1985 — "Futari Dake no Ceremony" — 4 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Summer Beach"* — 5 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Kanashii Yokan" — 7 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Love Fair" — 5 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • 1986 — "Kuchibiru Network" — 1 — CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming • "Hana no Image" — - — digital download, streaming • 2002 — "Believe in You: Strings version" — 63 — CD, digital download, streaming Summer beach was re-released on April 19, 2024 with a new album cover available by streaming and on LP*
Albums
Albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak positions • JPN Oricon • Cinderella — *Released: September 5, 1984 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 7 • Fairy — *Released: March 21, 1985 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 2 • Jyūgatsu no Ningyo — *Released: September 18, 1985 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 4 • Venus Tanjō — *Released: March 21, 1986 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 5
Compilation albums
Compilation albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak positions • JPN Oricon • Okurimono — *Released: November 28, 1984 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 6 • Okurimono II — *Released: December 5, 1985 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, Cassette tape, digital download, streaming — 17 • All Songs Request — *Released: May 15, 2002 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — 47 • The Premium Best Okada Yukiko — *Released: November 21, 2012 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — 139 • Golden☆Idol Okada Yukiko — *Released: July 30, 2014 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — 79 • Present — *Released: September 16, 2015 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — 135 • Yukiko Okada Mariya's Songbook — *Released: October 16, 2019 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — 13 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 by Mariya Takeuchi) (CD released October 16, 2019, Analog LP released April 20, 2020)
Box set
Box set
List of albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak positions • JPN Oricon • Memorial Box — *Released: March 17, 1999 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — 30 • Okurimono III — *Released: December 18, 2002 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD, CD+DVD, digital download, streaming — 87 • 7 Inch Single Complete Box — *Released: 2024 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: LP — TBA • GIFT/1984-1986 LIVE TOUR BOX — *Released: December 25, 2024 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: CD — TBA 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 (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) • GIFT/1984-1986 LIVE TOUR BOX (Box set containing audio recordings of all four of her concert tours.)
Home-video release
Home-video release
List of albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak positions • JPN Oricon • Yukiko in Swiss — *Released: February 20, 1985 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: VHS, LD — - • Memories of Switzerland — *Released: February 20, 1985 *Label: Pony Canyon *Formats: VHS, LD, DVD — -
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1986
Yukiko Okada died at Yotsuya.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ichinomiya.
Birth place
Yotsuya.
Death place
Legacy
• Illustration — Yukiko Okada's grave at the Jōman-ji Temple. Her grave is always covered with flowers. Fans who expected her to be Seiko Matsuda's successor were shocked and shattered by her untimely death. It resulted in many copycat suicides in Japan, soon christened with the neologism "Yukiko Syndrome" or "Yukko Syndrome." By April 26, 1986, 23 out of 36 youth suicides since Okada died were committed by also jumping off a building. In turn, it has been suggested that Okada may have had in mind idol Yasuko Endō, who also committed suicide by falling from a rooftop ten days earlier. A ninth single, scheduled for release on May 14, 1986, was postponed on fears of more suicides. 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 album Turntable. A compilation album of all eleven songs Takeuchi wrote for Okada, Yukiko Okada Mariya's Songbook, was released in 2019, and debuted at no. 13 on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart on October 28, 2019. 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.
Discography
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 from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.William Wetherall, "The suicide of Okada Yukiko: Japanese youth and the Yukko Syndrome" , Far Eastern Economic Review, July 17, 1986
- 2.Weekly Asahi. 竹内まりやも「希有な存在」と評す 没後30年、岡田有希子とは何だったのか. 8 April 2016.
- 3.Weekly Asahi. 岡田有希子、没後30年 南野陽子が「"ゴミ箱"が私だった」と思い出語る. 8 April 2016.
- 4.よい子の歌謡曲 No.33増刊号 ベスト・オブ岡田有希子(1987年4月1日発行)
- 5.Pulvers, Roger. Now suicide has become a political issue, how will Japan address it?. The Japan Times. 20 September 2009.
- 6.M-ON! MUSIC. 伝説のアイドル・岡田有希子のソングブックアルバムが異例のヒット！ 在りし日の姿が甦るトレーラー映像も大好評. 音楽WEBメディア M-ON! MUSIC(エムオンミュージック). 24 October 2019.
- 7.ORICON MUSIC. 岡田有希子さん×竹内まりやコンピ盤10・16発売「心から嬉しく思います」. 28 October 2019.
- 8.藤村かおり. 「愛情をください」と訴えた岡田有希子 死の直前、シクシク泣いて「事務所へ行きたい」. Weekly Asahi. 12 August 2016.
- 9.鈴木亮. 昭和の王道アイドル路線 さんみゅ～、シニアを魅了. The Nikkei. 25 August 2016.
- 10.Oricon News. サンミュージック波乱の50年 引きずった岡田有希子の死「お父さんの一言に救われた」. 11 November 2018.
- 11.Sankei Sports (Sanspo). 岡田有希子さん「１回目と２回目の自殺の理由は違う」 直前まで一緒にいた事務所元専務が明かす. 2 December 2016.
- 12.John Greenless, Paradox ò Japan Epidemic of suicides among young people, The Glasgow Herald – 11. Apr. 1987, page 37
- 13.Actor Minegishi Toru Dies at 65. 13 October 2008.
- 14.Kyodo News. Jomanji Temple burns down in late-night blaze in Aichi. The Japan Times. 2 February 2018.
- 15.Japanese Society Since 1945 by Edward R. Beauchamp, Taylor & Francis, 1998, , trang 97
- 16.Associated Press dead link. High School Girl Found Burned to Death in Apparent Suicide. April 2024.
- 17.ORICON NEWS. オリコン週間 アルバムランキング 2019年10月14日～2019年10月20日 11～20位. 28 October 2019.
- 18.岡田有希子のCD・DVDリリース一覧. Oricon.
- 19.The release of single was canceled after suicide and released posthumously for the first time as part of the box-set Memorial Box in 1999
- 20.岡田有希子さん×竹内まりやコンピ盤10・16発売「心から嬉しく思います」. June 25, 2024.
- 21.岡田有希子 Mariya's Songbook 2019年10月16日発売｜復刻版「贈りものIII」2019年9月11日発売｜特典クリアファイルが付いて発売決定.
References
Citations
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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