Fuji TV announcer Ariga Satsuki (52) passed away suddenly. It was revealed by her father that he received a call from the hospital around 8:00 in the morning on January 30 that his daughter had died.
Two weeks previous, she was hospitalized and received various treatments. Her father revealed that on February 1st, a funeral was held. As for the cause of death and what her medical condition was, her father said that he has not received a clear explanation and needs to talk to the doctor today.
Her father also said that he was relieved because he thought she was going to be discharged from the hospital, so her death is unexpected. That her health changed rapidly and she passed away.
Ariga’s father thanked everyone for their patience and understanding during this difficult time.
Hochi Shimbun is reporting that Ariga was receiving treatment for cancer. According to officials, Ariga was receiving treatment since last summer and was wearing a wig. She was last seen on the TV Asahi quiz show “Q Sama!” which was recorded on September 13th and aired on October 9th.
More details are coming out…
Ariga kept her sickness private and not even her father knew the extent of how ill she was. Work that was organized for her even for the New Year was refused as Ariga said she needed to take care of her elderly parents.
Many colleagues who worked with Ariga took to Twitter and their blogs to discuss their sadness over the sudden death of one of the more noticeable faces on Japanese television.
Ariga joined Fuji TV back in 1985 (officially as a team in 1988) and would become the co-host of TV Asahi’s “Music Station” for a large part of the ’90s until getting married in 2002 to Fuji TV commentator, Wada Keiji. Ariga would have a daughter that year but would divorce in 2006 and continued to work on television.
In one interview, it was reported that Ariga has been losing weight and went to the hospital two weeks ago. And that her father received a call from the hospital about his daughter’s death.
The Fuji TV series “Tokudane!” featured Maeda Tadayaki (76) who contacted Ariga’s former husband. Maeda asked if she died from suicide or cancer? Wada answered that he could not say anything but there should be an announcement from Ariga’s family.
Former Fuji TV announcer and currently a TV Asahi “Sunday Station” newscaster and editorial manager of Huffington Post Japan, Nagano Tomoyo has tweeted:
“I will soon be in the airport for overseas coverage but my tears can’t stop as I think about memories of Satsuki-chan, one after the other. We are of the same generation and this is really painful”
Former Fuji TV announcer and currently TBS radio host, Tereda Rieko blogged:
“I was surprised and shocked of the sudden death of Satsuki Ariga.
It was about three years ago when I accompanied Ariga-san on “Oja Map”. During the filming, we talked about being single mothers and nursing care.
When I moved onto TBS, I received an e-mail from Airga-san. We connected via LINE and have interacted via e-mail.
The last I saw Ariga-san, she was very thin and everyone was worried but no one knew the reason. I was impressed by her professionalism and how she hid her illness.
I do not have the words of how hard it is to lose my friend.
I have been at loss of whether or not I should make a comment. But with the thoughts of Ariga-san and the stories that will come out during the memorial service of how much she meant to everyone, I wanted to take the time to blog and comment about my experience.
I will pray for her family from the bottom of my heart.”
Former Fuji TV announcer Hanada Keiko wrote:
“I last exchanged e-mails with Satsuki back in November of last year. I was concerned when she said she her health was not good. I thought that I could always meet with Satsuki. She was always kind, gentle and I regret not meeting with her. I can not find any words but that I’m shocked.
I will always think about her bright personality, her work effort. I wish I can contact her now, I thought that I would be able to meet with her anytime, so I wanted to wait until she got better. I can’t believe it. I pray for her soul.”
We will continue to update this page as we receive new information.
Ariga’s last tweet was back on January 27th.