TOKYO • In an eerie coincidence, three Japanese actors from the same television serial have died in the space of two months.

In the most recent case, Japanese actor Takashi Fujiki, 80, was found dead at home by his son on Sunday.

According to Japanese media, Fujiki left a note saying he had "no confidence to continue acting" and the police are investigating the case as suspected suicide.

According to Sankei Shimbun, Fujiki had been at home most of the time as his workload had been cut drastically due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He was planning to act in a musical in January next year.

Fujiki, who joined the entertainment industry in 1959, had appeared in TV serials such as Shinsengumi! (2004), Team Medical Dragon 4 (2014) and Kamen Rider Amazons (2016 to 2017).

He is the third actor from the TV serial Bloody Monday 2 (2010) to die of suspected suicide in recent months.

Haruma Miura, 30, the leading actor in the series, died in July, while actress Sei Ashina, 36, was found dead in her Tokyo apartment last Monday.

Meanwhile, veteran actor Yosuke Saito has died from cancer at the age of 69.

Saito, who acted in well-known TV serials such as Oshin (1983 to 1984), was found to have laryngeal cancer after a visit to the dentist in July. He died last Saturday.

HELPLINES

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222