Singer Teruko Hino passes away

[Tokyograph News]

Hawaiian singer Teruko Hino died late at night on September 9 in a Tokyo-area hospital. She was 63.

Hino, whose real name was Teruko Ichinose, was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2003. The cancer later spread to several other areas of her body, resulting in repeated hospitalization. Her condition improved and she continued her career, but last year her cancer resurfaced. She held her last performance on December 23.

In 1962, Hino won the All-Japan Hawaiian Contest, and she made her debut two years later. One of her best known hits was the 1965 single "Natsu no Hi no Omoide," which became a million-seller. Starting that year, she made three consecutive appearances at the Kohaku Uta Gassen.

She married composer Yoshitaka Ichinose in 1969, at the height of her career. She left show business to raise a family, but she came back a decade later.

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