Miwa Asao back in public eye after sister's death

Wednesday 17th September, 10:40 AM JST

TOKYO —

Professional beach volleyball player Miwa Asao, 22, on Tuesday appeared at a PR event for Asahi Brewery’s “Clear Asahi” beer. Asao is the image character for the product.

Asked about her 17-year-old sister who died in a car accident on Sept 5, Asao said, “I’m OK now. I will work harder not only for her but also for myself in the next beach volleyball tournament.”

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Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

rjd_jr at 11:10 AM JST - 17th September

Oh ya, when my close family member died when I was a teenager years ago, I still had to go to school the following week. I wasn't a mumbling, bumbling mess like people think "all" grieving people SHOULD act like, I was perfectly normal to the outside world. We all have lives we have to continue with. If I was a celebrity and had a family member die, it's no problem showing up in the public eye a few weeks after the fact. Miwa is not the only celebrity in the world to do such a thing.

Again, nice to see her again.
bimyou at 11:24 AM JST - 17th September

Welcome back Miwa, really sorry about what happened to your sister.
Altria at 12:04 PM JST - 17th September

People have different ways of grieving - some people cry, some people joke, some people drown their sorrows in 3rd-category beer.
magpie at 12:10 PM JST - 17th September

More power to her. People have different ways of handling grief. What is important is that life has to go on.
limosine at 12:24 PM JST - 17th September

She's gorgeous.
lameduck at 01:35 PM JST - 17th September

Her sister was 17 years old and died several weeks after the accident (being hit by a car on August 12th when riding a bicycle). http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0909/NGY200809090001.html

All this happended in Mie-ken, Suzuka-City. Very tragic. Rest in peace.

I just hope that she didn't die because of malpractice. Japanese countryside hospitals are scary. Although unfair to many good physicians in Japan, the level of Japanese hospitals is much lower than in US or Europe.
Nessie at 01:36 PM JST - 17th September

Would have been a good chance to plug for bicycle and car safety, but we can't hold the missed opportunity against her.
DenshaDeGO at 03:05 PM JST - 17th September

I feel kinda bad oogling her picture under the circumstances
Blue_Tiger at 07:24 PM JST - 17th September

Can't really agree with her doing a beer ad, as drinking and driving is on the rise here in Japan....
martyman at 09:12 PM JST - 17th September

Another tragic story with a youngster losing their life. I feel for Miwa and can only be thankful she has the strength to carry on. Her public life may be vastly different form her personal life. But for now, she is Ok.
borscht at 09:08 AM JST - 18th September

Blue Tiger Last statistics I saw (about six months ago) showed that driving while intoxicated are going down very fast - because of a couple of new laws. Too bad about her sister and her family. RIP.
papasmurfinjapan at 01:45 PM JST - 18th September

I just hope that she didn't die because of malpractice

Indeed. A Mainichi report on the incident said that her condition was deemed "non-life threatening" despite receiving a large blow to the head, but she died in hospital after her condition worsened.

I'm not saying the doctors were negligent, but there certainly is that possibility when a patient's condition is presented as non-life threatening, and then they die soon afterwards.
lameduck at 06:21 PM JST - 18th September

A Mainichi report on the incident said that her condition was deemed 'non-life threatening' despite receiving a large blow to the head, but she died in hospital after her condition worsened.

Interesting. Could be a sign of a Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) aka nosocomial infection, in other words an infection that she contracted in hospital. This could be a surgical site infection (SSI), urinary tract infection (UTI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) etc., of which the two latter ones are probably the ones with the highest mortality rate.

The level of infection control and HAI surveillance in Japan is pretty low and antibiotics are often used imprudently. As a result, I would expect that antibiotic resistance is is quite high in Japan.
Sarge at 08:28 PM JST - 18th September

"Clear Asahi beer"

That stuff is not beer.
Molenir at 04:30 AM JST - 19th September

Wonder if the sister would have survived had she been wearing a helmet? Am happy the girl is able to come back though.