Tsunku’s Sobering Surprise

Tsunku is an alumnus of the university and the students were expecting him to address the assembly and maybe even sing a song or two, but as it turns out that was impossible. As he stood smiling on the stage in front of the students, a large monitor behind him explained that the singer’s vocal cords had been removed as part of his treatment for esophogeal cancer. Tsunku rose to stardom as the leader of the pop metal band Sharam Q in the 1980s, and eventually branched off with his own mini-music empire centered on the girl group Morning Musume, which started the exchangeable idol formula that has made similar acts like AKB48 so profitable.

Though Tsunku said via the monitor during the Kinki University ceremony that he has “chosen to live by abandoning the thing I treasure the most, my voice,” he will continue in music as a developer and producer of young talent. He added that he chose this particular venue to make his announcement because, like the students who were starting their academic careers, he thought of himself as a “freshman, who is beginning a new life.” Reportedly, his blog has been overwhelmed with messages of support. It is very unusual in Japan for a famous person to be so forthcoming about his or her illness.