27-yr-old Japanese singer Ryuchell found dead in agent's office, police suspect suicide

Ryuchell, a popular Japanese TV personality-LGBTQ rights advocate, and social media influencer Ryuchell has passed away at the age of 27.

According to a BBC report, they were found dead by their manager at the office of an entertainment agency in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Wednesday.

Although the cause of death is still being investigated, the police are suspecting suicide.


As Ryuchell was pretty influential in the LGBTQ/queer circles, many netizens took to Twitter to mourn their demise. Many also called out the Japan’s culture that prized conformity and alienation of anyone who was different. “The Japanese public sees gender nonconforming people as clowns. The role of trans people in Japanese entertainment is to be made fun of, and laugh along, since (in the public's eyes) they brought it upon themselves by not conforming,” wrote a Twitter user.

Another wrote, “Ryuchell, who had recently come out has trans, was found dead from an apparent suicide. They were working so hard on their new image and new music, but transphobic people would harass them too… I'm crushed. I had such hopes for them.”

A video of them along with their ex-wife also went viral on the microblogging platform.

Who Was Ryuchell?

• Rychell was born as Ryuji Higa in Ginowan, Okinawa on September 29, 1995.
• After becoming an established social media influencer, Ryuchell made their musical debut. In 2019, they released a musical album named Super Candy Boy. They also voiced an animal film.
• In 2016, Ryuchell married fellow social-media influencer and model Peco. The couple welcomed a son Link, in 2018. However, the duo got divorced in 2022, when Rychell announced they no longer identified as male and adopted they/them pronouns.
• Post coming out, Ryuchell received immense criticism online and was often subjected to trolling. Many accused them of being a negligent father.