Japanese comedian Ken Shimura has died from coronavirus. The 70-year-old had been in hospital since March 20 after developing a fever and severe pneumonia.
Shimura died in Tokyo on Sunday evening, NHK said. It had been confirmed earlier this week he was suffering from Covid-19. Tributes are now flooding in for the star who was one of the country's best-known comedians with a career dating back to the early 1970s.
Professional racing driver João Paulo Oliveira tweeted: "I’m deeply saddened by the loss of Ken Shimura. He had a genious way to make us laugh.
Rest In Peace." Another social media user added: "Famous comedian Ken Shimura died after contracting the coronavirus. "This is as high a profile case to Japanese as Tom Hanks was to
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