Singer Aki Yashiro, the grand dame of Japanese "enka" ballads who had many big hits during her career spanning five decades, died Dec. 30 of lung disease, her office said. She was 73.Yashiro, who debuted in 1971 after working as a singer at a nightclub in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district, had suspended her musical activities after announcing in September that she would focus on treatment of a connective tissue illness.She had developed anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis, a designated intractable disease, and died of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease, the office said.Know…READ FULL ARTICLE
