Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Dec 13, 2017
Taunts, tweets and tough talk: Japan's quotes of 2017
by Nevin Thompson
Soundbites tell the story of a roller-coaster year for Japan, from its Diet to its dohyō.
National Jul 1, 2017
Ebizo starts English version of late wife Kobayashi's popular blog
by Mizuho Aoki
A week after TV announcer Mao Kobayashi's death from breast cancer, her husband, kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo, revealed Friday that he has launched an English version of the blog she updated until her final days. “I’ve heard that not only Japanese but also foreigners are ...
National Jun 23, 2017
TV presenter Mao Kobayashi, 34, dies after battle with breast cancer
by Mizuho Aoki
Popular television presenter Mao Kobayashi, 34, died Thursday night after a more than two-year battle with breast cancer, her husband and kabuki star Ebizo said Friday. "I was watching the moment she breathed her last breath. At that moment, she said 'I love you,' " ...
National Nov 24, 2016
Cancer-fighting TV celebrity Mao Kobayashi named in BBC's 100 Women for 2016
Japanese TV celebrity Mao Kobayashi, who has been fighting breast cancer for about two years, has been named in the 2016 edition of the BBC's 100 Women list. Kobayashi, 34, who has been married to kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo since 2010, was chosen because she ...
National Jun 10, 2016
TV presenter Kobayashi has advanced cancer, says actor husband Ebizo
by Tomohiro Osaki
Popular television presenter Mao Kobayashi, 33, has been battling "serious" breast cancer for the past 20 months and is undergoing treatment, her kabuki actor husband, Ichikawa Ebizo, said Thursday. He said the disease is "spreading really fast," and doctors have warned the couple that they ...