Buck-Tick’s Atsushi Sakurai, My Favorite Singer

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:38 JST, January 7, 2024

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a female part-time worker in my 50s. Atsushi Sakurai, the singer of the rock band Buck-Tick, suddenly died of a brain stem hemorrhage in October. He was my favorite singer and I’m still crying over his death.

I’ve been a fan of his for 36 years and attended the band’s concerts for 20 years.

The band was scheduled to tour music clubs and perform in the annual year-end concert at the Nippon Budokan. I had plans to go to that concert.

I get choked up when I hear something about Sakurai. Even when I’m at work, he is in the back of my mind and sometimes my eyes start to water.

I will never again be able to see him live on stage or hear him sing and I can’t believe that he is no longer in this world. I just can’t get over his death.

I’ve never felt so sad, so wistful or so attached to a person before.

How can I come to terms with the fact that I’m parting with someone who is important to me but not a member of my family?

— I, Gunma Prefecture

Dear Ms. I:

You’re filled with grief over the death of Atsushi Sakurai.

I’m sure you were able to get through some tough times in your life with him as your emotional support, thinking, “I need to hold on for the next concert!”

You’ve been a fan of his for 36 years since you were a student. That’s the majority of your life.

I learned from the news that Sakurai fell ill on stage during a concert in October and died after being rushed to a hospital.

He must have been happy to die doing what he loved most.

Rokusuke Ei, a radio and TV personality whom I admired, once said before his death, “A human being dies twice. One is the death of the body, and the other is when they have passed from people’s memories.”

I hope that you will continue to talk about Sakurai with other fans.

I think that your sadness will turn into positive energy when you share your memories with others.

Sakurai will always live on in your heart.

— Akemi Masuda,sports commentator