Izumi Sakai - May her spirit rest in peace

Sakai died on 27 May 2007. Her death is thought to have been the result of a fall from the landing of an emergency-exit slope at Keio University Hospital, where she was undergoing chemotherapy. She had been hospitalized in June 2006 with cervical cancer and underwent an operation to remove the growth. In April 2007, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to her lungs and readmitted her to Keio University Hospital. According to police, the fall took place during a walk on the morning of 26 May 2007, from a height of about 3 meters. Sakai was discovered at around 5:40 a.m. and taken to the emergency room, where she died the following afternoon of head injuries. Police are investigating the possibility of suicide, but no suicide note was found. Sakai was planning to release a new album in fall 2007, as well as launch her first live tour in three years. She was 40.