CoronaVirus: Japanese Comic Actor Ken Shimura Dies From Coronavirus at 70

THR is reporting that Japanese comedian Ken Shimura, who was hospitalized last week after being infected with the new coronavirus, has died.

The superstar has, since the 1970s, been a near constant presence on Japanese television. At the time of his death, he was appearing regularly on several local variety shows, and was set to star in Japanese director Yoji Yamada’s upcoming feature film God of Cinema, produced by Japanese studio Shochiku to mark its 100-year anniversary in the film industry. Shochiku has put the film on indefinite hold.

Sadly, Shimura was hospitalised in Tokyo on March 20 after developing a fever and being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. He tested positive for the coronavirus on March 23, and became the first Japanese celebrity to go public with a COVID-19 diagnosis.

He was 70.