It is with great sadness that we report that the guitarist for the Visual Kei band, Masumi, passed away from lung cancer May 18.

Back in 2013 Wizard went on indefinite hiatus, after which Masumi retired from the music industry and only made occasional tweets online. In April Masumi tweeted out two very important updates about his life. Below are Masumi’s two tweets in which he reveals the fact he has lung cancer.

“There are good news and bad news. Let me tell you the good news first: During these past 6 years I became a nurse, married, bought a house and was blessed with a child. Every day was so fulfilling.”

“And this is the bad news: Last month my bad condition continued, so I went to see a doctor. The result of it is that I was diagnosed with lung cancer. It already spread to other parts of my body and is stage IV now. As result of genetic check-ups it’s the plan to undergo chemotherapy. I wanted to hold a live just once again. It’s a pity.”

Not long after Masumi published these tweets fans started sending him folded paper cranes. In Japan a thousand folded paper cranes can symbolize good luck and good health. In Masumi’s last few tweets he thanked his fans for their support and provided updates on his condition. On April 29 he expressed that he was happy that he would live the see the first day of the brand new Reiwa era, which was May 1. Still, he was really hoping to live to see his birthday in August—but sadly, this wish wasn’t able to come to pass.

On May 8 Masumi sent out his final tweet in which he thanked Brand X’s Yada and Like, along with Edison’s Rami, for helping to organize the paper cranes and for their general support. The final tweet from Masumi’s account itself, the announcement of his passing, came May 25.

We here at Ongaku To You send out our thoughts and prayers to the friends and family Masumi left behind.

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