J-pop superstar Hideki Saijo dies at 63

Hideki Saijo died of heart failure. Photo: Filepic

Japanese singer-actor Hideki Saijo passed away in a hospital in Yokohama, Japan on May 16 at 11.53pm. The cause of death was acute heart failure. He was 63. According to his agency, the singer was hospitalised on April 25 after he fell unconscious when he was in the company of his family members. The J-pop icon, whose birth name is Tatsuo Kimoto, was born in Hiroshima, Japan on April 13, 1955.

He made his debut in 1972 when he was 16 and became a pin-up star in Japan and most of Asia with the hit Young Man, the Japanese version of Village People’s 1978 disco song Y.M.C.A. Unlike the original camp version, the Japanese hit was actually intended to inspire young men. Another of his popular cover song was Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias’ 1999 Latin dance pop hit Bailamos (Let’s Dance).