Singer and actress Minako Honda died of acute myeloid leukemia early Sunday, her family said. She was 38.
Honda, whose real name was Minako Kudo, made her debut as a pop singer in 1985. She won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist that year.
Honda had a string of pop hits, including "Oneway Generation."
She expanded her career into musicals after she got the role of Kim in the Japanese production of "Miss Saigon" in 1992. She went on to perform leading roles in such musicals as "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The King and I."
She was diagnosed with leukemia in January and had been undergoing treatment, including a bone marrow transplant.
