Veteran Japanese actress and voice actress Yukiko Nikaido has died at the age of 87. Her son Sōsuke Yagyū announced that she passed away on July 3 due to old age after spending the last 11 years in a nursing home.
Born in Tokyo in 1938, Nikaido trained with the Haiyuza Theatre Company before building a successful career in television dramas. Following the birth of her first son, she shifted her focus to voice acting and became widely recognized as the original voice of Fujiko Mine in the first Lupin the 3rd television anime, which aired from 1971 to 1972.
She also voiced Anna in Marco – From the Apennines to the Andes and Sugaru in Kamui Gaiden: Tsukihigai no Maki. Beyond entertainment, Nikaido served as the first president of the Yatsugatake Club, a horticulture facility, restaurant, and gallery in Yamanashi.