Nakamoto Koji of the Drifters was seriously injured in a traffic accident

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Nakamoto Koji (81), a member of The Drifters, was seriously injured in a traffic accident on the 18th.

According to news reports, Nakamoto was walking at an intersection in Yokohama and was struck by a vehicle and suffered serious injuries especially in the head area.

When he was transported to the hospital, his face was bleeding and he was unconscious and underwent head surgery.

Izawa Office commented on the website that they were very shocked at the sudden situation.

The accident site is an area near Nishi-Yokohama Station on the Sotetsu Line, where apartments and restaurants are line up. There were no traffic lights or crosswalks at the intersection, and it was an area where pedestrians are prohibited from crossing. The driver did not have any violations such as speeding or drinking, so it is expected that the investigation will be switched to a home investigation in the future. Nakamoto’s home is in Tokyo, and it is not clear why he was in Yokohama, but there is a curry restaurant run by his wife, singer Junka (54), just about 80 meters from the scene.

At the scene of the accident, there were traces of chalk that seemed to have been written during the site inspection. According to an office worker in his 30s who works nearby who witnessed the accident, two people, including the driver, were in the car that collided with Nakamoto. “The two of us were carrying Nakamoto-san to the sidewalk. The driver called an ambulance, and the ambulance arrived in about five minutes. He didn’t move and he wasn’t conscious”.

 In 1965, Nakamoto Koji joined “The Drifters” as a guitarist. He made use of his experience as a member of the gymnastics club in high school, and became popular for performing mat exercises and trampolines on the TBS program “8 Ji Dayo! Zenin Shushu” which was broadcast from 1969 to 1985. The skits such as “Baka Brothers” and “Thunder-sama” were well received in the Fuji series “Drift Daibakusho”.  In 1999, he made his CD debut with Kato Cha and Takagi Boo in the unit “Kobucha Band”. In his personal life, after two divorces, he married enka singer Junka III (stage name at the time) in 2012.

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