Just yesterday we blogged about the shocking suicide of reality television star Maria Hamasaki. Now we sadly have another death to write about: the actress and model Rui Shinato (階戸瑠李).
Regular readers will know her from her semi-nude gravure photo shoots that showed off her beauty and hot body. Most impressively, though, were her recent appearances in the such films as Call Boy and the hit Netflix series The Naked Director, both of which required her to perform explicit nude sex scenes.
The 31-year-old actress, who is currently starring in the ratings success Hanzawa Naoki drama series on TBS, was found dead in her apartment by a family member, having died on August 28. The cause of death was given as a “chronic illness” and the exact details are under investigation. She lived alone in the Tokyo apartment and there is speculation that epilepsy might have caused her death.
Alongside her burgeoning acting career, Shinato had still continued her photo shoots, releasing a second photo book, Butter, in 2019 that firmly exploited her jukujo allure. She had officially retired from gravure in 2018 when she joined her final agency to focus on her acting.