<h2><span class="strongInContent">Akira Nakao</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> Passed away on May 16th at the age of 81.</span></h2>
<figure id="attachment_405048" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405048" style="width: 1656px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e0b6782f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/42db07e8810af281a95ef09db65615f6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405048" class="wp-caption-text"> His last work was &#8220;Sanctuary,&#8221; which is available on Netflix. He was always ready to take on new challenges on a new stage until the end.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> Always made me laugh on the set. <br>
Shima Iwashita (Actress)</h3>
<p> My interaction with Ms. Nakao began in 1971 when we co-starred in Shochiku&#8217;s &#8220;The Circle of the Inner Sea (Naikai)&#8221; and became close friends. Since then, we have been friends for more than 50 years, and it has been an asset for me to have spent wonderful times together.</p>
<p> He played the role of a yakuza in &#8220;Gokudo no Onna-tachi&#8221; (&#8217;86-&#8217;98), in which I played the lead role. When we started filming, he changed his mood to that of a &#8220;real job,&#8221; but as soon as the cut was made, he immediately returned to his normal self, cracking jokes and making the audience feel at ease.</p>
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<p> In the fourth film, &#8220;The Last Battle,&#8221; there is a scene where he puts a gun to Mr. Nakao&#8217;s temple as he is being carried to the ambulance on a stretcher and shoots him. As I was standing by with the muzzle of the gun on my temple, Shima-chan, who was lying on the stretcher, whispered to me, &#8220;Shima-chan, take the muzzle off the gun a little bit. It was so cute that she mumbled, &#8220;I&#8217;m a little scared.&#8221; &#8211; I still remember it.</p>
<p> After hearing the news of his death, I was watching TV when a commercial featuring Mr. and Mrs. Nakao and Fuku Suzuki (20) came on. I remember feeling sad and thinking, &#8220;Nakao-chan is no longer with us.</p>
<p> From the January 3, 10, and 17, 2025 issue of FRIDAY</p>
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 Kodansha Resource Center

 Akira Nakao, an actor who passed away on May 16, was a close friend for over 50 years, and actress Shima Iwashita, who co-starred in "Gokudo no Onna-tachi" (Wives of the Poles), sends her parting words.

In Memoriam ’24 】”Is Nakao-chan gone now?” said actress Shima Iwashita, “The true face of Akira Nakao…”

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