Entertainment Oct. 19, 2010 - 04:43AM JST ( 9 )

TOKYO —

Southern All-Stars vocalist Keisuke Kuwata, who underwent surgery for esophageal cancer on Aug 2, has recovered and is able to sing once again.

The news came in the form of a message to Tokyo FM on Sunday night. At the top of Kuwata’s regular radio show, to which he sends weekly status updates, his manager read a statement which informed his waiting fans that Kuwata, 54, was returning to full health and that recording for his new album had finally recommenced.

“I’ve been forced to let music fall by the wayside for over two months now,” Kuwata said in his message. “It feels great to be back in the game. Thank you all so much for your support.”

After the news was announced, the radio station erupted into victorious cheers and applause.

According to sources, there were four tracks left when Kuwata was forced to halt the recording for surgery. “He’s been undergoing physiotherapy to enable him to use his voice again,” said his manager. “Although he’s not doing the final recording yet, slowly but surely he’s returning to his old self.”