In Memoriam: Toru Watanabe Lost 52kg and Lost a Lot of Weight!

Actor and TV personality Toru Watanabe passed away on November 28 at the age of 61. The cause of death was sepsis; on November 20, he developed fever, abdominal pain, and other symptoms, and was hospitalized at a Tokyo hospital where he underwent tests but did not recover.

In October, Mr. Watanabe appeared in a stage production of “This Time, My Love My Wife,” which was staged in Tokyo and Osaka. In his speech, he expressed his gratitude to his wife, Ikue Sakakibara, in relation to the content of the play. I weighed 130 kg at my peak, and now I weigh about 73 kg. I owe everything to my wife.” The sudden news of his death has sent shockwaves through the entertainment world.

After graduating from high school in 1980, Mr. Watanabe entered the entertainment world as a research student of the Bungakuza Theater Company. The following year, she appeared in the drama “Taiyo ni Hoero! (Nippon Television Network Corporation), which aired the following year, and became a nationally known actor. With his cheerful character, he was also active as a host and singer.”

The pictures make it all clear! Rebound Transition

Mr. Watanabe’s life was also a battle against obesity. In an interview with “FRIDAY” (September 14, 2012 issue), he said the following

In my life, I was thin only for six months right after my debut. I had been chubby since I was a child, but after I entered the entertainment business and made my debut in “Taiyo ni Hoero!” I dropped to 69 kg. But after that, I just kept getting fatter and fatter.

When he married Ikue Sakakibara in 1987, he already weighed more than 130 kg. According to Watanabe, he would eat three bento and drink with the crew after shooting until morning. Coke was his favorite drink, and he drank 1.5 liters of it in one gulp at each meal instead of water. He always poured a lot of mayonnaise on his katsudon (pork cutlet served on top of a bowl of rice) and ate 6,000 calories per meal, a lifestyle that would put him on par with sumo wrestlers.

At the suggestion of his wife, Mr. Watanabe went on a diet. In the interview mentioned above, he said, “The first thing I tried was to lose weight.”

The first diet I tried was the wakame diet. I ate only vinegared wakame all day long and lost 4 kg in one week. But the moment I stopped, I immediately rebounded 5 kg. I did the same boiled egg diet and banana diet, but the result was the same. When I lose weight, I let my guard down and it comes back.

In 1991, he collapsed with acute diabetes and was hospitalized in an emergency. He decided to go to a gym, but instead of exercising, he frequented the gym’s restaurant.

It was probably in April 2012 that he realized that he was in trouble. He was hospitalized for a myocardial infarction and underwent a six-hour operation that left him on the verge of death. The cause was the progression of diabetes, a chronic illness. Determined to lose weight this time around, Mr. Watanabe began walking for less than an hour every day and successfully lost 52 kg from his peak weight. The following is a quote from the aforementioned interview.

In the end, any diet works, but it is useless unless you can continue it. Thanks in part to the hospital food I ate while in the hospital, I now weigh 78 kg. But I still have some clothes from when I was fat in the back of my closet (laughs).

Mr. Watanabe continued to lead a regular life after that. There is still much that is unclear about the cause of his death. However, the untimely passing of the actor, who was well-liked by all for his lovable character, has been mourned by people from all walks of life.