) was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and member of the Tokyo Sunshine Boys

Tokyo Sunshine Boys

The is a Japanese theatrical troupe that was active from 1983 until about 1994. Since it disbanded almost all of its members have continued acting on theatre and in film.-History:...

 theatrical troupe. He was born on February 16, 1962 in Niigata

Niigata, Niigata

is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. He died on May 24th, 2002 from a Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

A subarachnoid hemorrhage , or subarachnoid haemorrhage in British English, is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain...

 in the brain.
He performed on stage, and on television in series such as Trick and Furuhata Ninzaburō

Furuhata Ninzaburo

is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Koki Mitani and being known as the Japanese's version of Columbo....

. His trademark was his large, thick-rimmed glasses

Glasses

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...

, which he used solely for comic effect - in fact Ito had 20/20 vision

20/20 Vision

20/20 Vision is the seventh studio album from country music artist Ronnie Milsap, it was released in 1976.-Track listing:# "20/20 Vision"  – 3:05# "Lovers, Friends and Strangers"  – 2:52...

.

Ito joined the Tokyo Sunshine Boys in 1983, while he was a student. When he graduated university he continued acting but took a full-time job as a standard salaryman

Salaryman

refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...

 until his career in acting picked up.

He was married in 2000 to a stylist that he met while filming the movie Shomuni, after dating her for less than six months. Unfortunately he died two years later. They had no children.

Films

• 1995 Salaryman Senka
• 1996 Tomoko no Baai
• 1997 Marutai no Onna
• 1999 GTO
  GTO
  GTO is an abbreviation of:* A gate turn-off thyristor*Geographic targeting order, an order issued by the United States Secretary of Treasury* Geostationary transfer orbit, an intermediate orbit around the Earth...
  
  

Television Dramas

• 1993 Furikaereba Yatsu ga Iru
• 1994 Furuhata Ninzaburō
  Furuhata Ninzaburo
  is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Koki Mitani and being known as the Japanese's version of Columbo....
  
  
• 1995 Oosama no Restaurant
• 1996 Imaizumi Shintaro
• 1996 Konna Watashi ni Dare ga Shita
• 1997 Odoru Daisosasen
  Bayside Shakedown
  was a Japanese police drama/comedy series originally broadcast by the Fuji Television group in 1997. The series was so popular that five cinematic-release movies were made following the end of the TV series, the first in 1998, the second in 2003, the third and fourth in 2005, and the fifth...
  
  
• 1998 Shomuni
• 1999 Omizu no Hanamichi
• 2001 Gakko no Sensei
• 2002 Nurseman
• 2002 Trick 2

Sources