Veteran actress Michiyo Aratama, a popular figure in TV dramas and on stage, died of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital Saturday, her family said Thursday. She was 71.
Aratama, whose real name is Kyoko Toda, was a graduate of the Takarazuka all-female troupe and appeared in the "Ningen no Joken" ("The Human Condition") movie series, directed by Masaki Kobayashi, and many TV dramas.