Ai Iijima

Ai Iijima's last days shrouded in mystery

Former porn star-TV personality Ai Iijima, 36, was found dead in her apartment in Tokyo on Dec 24. The sudden news on Christmas Eve surprised people nationwide. Her death has prompted lots of speculation in the tabloid media and on TV variety shows.

“Her room was messy with books, clothes and bottles strewn about when she was found,” says a police investigator. “We found several tobacco packages of different brands. It seems that she was with somebody until the last minute of her death.”

Iijima had no obvious injuries, police said, adding they believe she either died of an illness or committed suicide. However, an autopsy revealed that she had probably been dead for one week before her body was found, but could not pin down the cause of her death. Several types of pharmaceutical products such as the sleeping pill Halcion and cold medicines—all prescribed by doctors—were found in the condominium but no suicide note was found, police said.

Although Iijima retired from showbiz in March, 2007, some big shots were rumored to be closely involved in her retirement. One of them was a real estate entrepreneur in his 30s who was known as “Mr X.”

A friend of Mr X says, “He often calls himself ‘A 100 billion yen man.’ After Iijima got acquainted with him, she used to consult with him about her retirement.” The friend adds, “When Iijima attended his birthday party in 2007, she told her friends that he gave her a watch worth several million yen. She seems to have had a business project with him after her retirement.”

Iijima’s relationship with Mr X, however, didn’t last very long because he fled overseas after some trouble with his investment deals. The source above says that after Iijima lost the support of Mr X, other people approached her with business deals.

One of Iijima’s close friends says, “She was eager to launch a new business after retirement. Developing adult toys was one of her ideas which she wrote about on her blog. She sold her apartment in 2007 but got much less for it than she was expecting. I think that financial troubles is the reason why she recently looked older.”

Neighbors also recall seeing Iijima arguing with someone on her cell phone and wandering outside her apartment barefoot. With the speculation about her post-retirement life and all the messages posted on her blog since her death, it seems Iijima will leave behind a tragic legacy. (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

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Latest 15 of 42 Total Comments Show All

Wakarimasen at 01:50 PM JST - 7th January

Never seen her "act", but she doesn't look all that. Mr X? Certainly an original alias....... Plus she stole my idea on making original and fun sex toys.
mrhog123 at 12:25 PM JST - 8th January

I offer my condolences to her family. Anything else is just idle speculation.
Dogdog at 02:00 AM JST - 9th January

Anything else is just idle speculation.

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.
WilliB at 05:11 PM JST - 9th January

Why all this hatred among so many JT commentators? I am no fan of her, but among all the vacuous clowns on TV here, she was not the worst, to the contrary.
konohito at 04:46 PM JST - 10th January

"It seems that she was with somebody until the last minute of her death.”

????
Bholder at 06:04 PM JST - 10th January

mr x-o taro
gogogo at 09:52 PM JST - 10th January

WilliB: Because it reads like gossip and not a serious article when it should be.
PichuTanaka at 08:44 AM JST - 11th January

Sad Life when you think about it. Think about it.
bobcatfish at 12:59 PM JST - 11th January

dogdog- harsh but fair
Goals0 at 08:33 AM JST - 13th January

"We found several tobacco packages of different brands" - Should be 'packs of cigarettes of different brands'. Your friendly translation police division.
supercub at 03:00 PM JST - 13th January

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.

I think you hang out with the wrong women.
J_rock at 12:45 AM JST - 14th January

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.

What a load of bitter, misogynistic garbage. It does a great disservice to millions of women, and doesn't reflect all that well on yourself either.
ddjpn at 01:07 PM JST - 17th January

In my humble and uninformed opinion, she died of AIDS. She quit the "geinokai" to protect her privacy. Why else would she had quit at the height of her popularity? Her health was failing, hair and teeth were falling out, and she wasn't able to go out and talk to or meet people like a normal person. Overall, a remarkable life! She was refreshing and absolutely beautiful, especially when she was young before she had her operations.
bdiego at 04:27 PM JST - 19th January

JRock makes a good point - how someone views women almost always says more about the person than anything else.
cjapan at 05:33 PM JST - 27th January

However, an autopsy revealed that she had probably been dead for one week before her body was found, but could not pin down the cause of her death.

I smell something fishy here...someone paying the cops to cover up some unwanted press? How can you NOT pin down the cause of the death? Isn't that what they are trained to do? PR people for Ai san doing their job I guess.