Music producer and composer Kazuhiko Kato was found dead on Saturday morning, in a hotel room in Karuizawa, Nagano. He was 62. According to authorities, the death appears to be a premeditated suicide.
Investigators say that Kato checked into the hotel alone on Friday, planning to stay a single night. At around 8:15am on Saturday, the hotel was notified by a woman close to Kato (said to be in her 30s) that she was unable to contact him, and she requested that the hotel verify Kato’s presence.
About an hour later, Kato was found hanged in the bathroom, and his identity was verified by the woman and a man from Kato’s agency. The time of death is reportedly estimated to be around 9:30pm on Friday night. Police also found two suicide notes that appear to have been typed on Kato’s computer.
Kato apparently suffered from depression, and multiple friends of his said they recently received letters with messages such as “I have nothing left that I want to do.” The previously mentioned woman said that a few days before his death, Kato had talked to her by phone and stated that he wanted to die. She became worried when she became unable to contact him after that, so she eventually tracked down the hotel that Kato stayed at.
As a musician, Kato started his career in the 1960s as part of the band
The Folk Crusaders, which had a hit with their debut song “
Kaette Kita Yopparai.” After the group disbanded in the late ’60s, he began a solo career, then later formed the well-known
Sadistic Mika Band in 1972.
Kato also produced and composed for many major artists, including
Agnes Chan and
Mariya Takeuchi. One of his most recent collaborations was the unit
Kazukoh, which he formed with
Konosuke Sakazaki of
THE ALFEE.
Kato’s last on-stage performance was in Shizuoka on September 20, as a guest at an outdoor concert by
Kosetsu Minami. He was scheduled to perform at a colon cancer event on November 5 and had been chosen to handle the music for the stage version of “
Pacchigi!” in December.
Source:
Sankei Sports
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