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The story
Singer-songwriter Hiroko Taniyama (70) updated her own X (formerly Twitter) account on November 10, revealing that she is currently hospitalized. Taniyama had previously disclosed that she battled breast cancer in 2020, but she has not revealed the name of her current condition. On a 5ch thread, posters reacted with surprise at her age (“Wait, she’s 70?”), while others speculated it might be shingles and debated whether she’d gotten vaccinated. The thread also touched on her long career as a composer for Yamaha and her devoted longtime fanbase.
Hiroko Taniyama Reveals Diagnosis: “I’m Hospitalized and Undergoing Treatment” — Also Battled Breast Cancer in 2020
11/10 (Tue) 1:53 PM
Singer-songwriter Hiroko Taniyama (70) updated her X account on the 10th, reporting that she is currently hospitalized.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
She's a singer-songwriter who does her own unique thing
But if you put off seeing a doctor, it drags on and leaves nerve pain behind
I bet the notice came and she skipped it
Wonder if I should get the shingles vaccine myself… no point once it's already broken out
Totally forgot about that
Guess I should go get it
Never really got what was so great about it
Off to save Princess Peach, going, going." (lyrics from a Mario-themed song she wrote)
First time I've met someone else who knows that song
Guess I wasn't imagining it after all
Surprised this wasn't the first thing posted
I mean, everyone in this thread must know it
My uncle's face swelled up with shingles, and while he was hospitalized for it they discovered he had cancer,
so it might be a sign your immune system is weakening
That takes some serious political clout
I see, I see
That's because she writes lyrics and music for other artists
Her own songs only ever drew a hardcore niche fanbase though
Even if you get vaccinated, it's not a disease the shot prevents 100% of the time
Why didn't she go?
What are you even talking about?
The others are Yumi Matsutoya and Chiharu Matsuyama
She'd even call her "omae" (a blunt, casual way of saying "you") too
She did something recently for an NHK "Minna no Uta" (a long-running NHK song program) revival of an 80s track
She's well-known enough that NHK uses her
My wife/partner always brings her up as an offbeat pick
That's about the level of name recognition she has
and near the ears it can sometimes cause hearing loss
If you think it might be shingles, go straight to the hospital, get antiviral meds, and actually take them properly
I was trimming shrubs in the garden, got bitten by bugs, and ended up going to the dermatologist — that's how a guy who'd never been to a doctor in his life learned just how many middle-aged women get shingles
Ah, so that's what they're always going on about on TV
And yet the women in my own house never bring it up at all
Her fanbase has gotta be 60 and up
More like "right around 60" than "60 and up" — honestly people in their 50s might know her better
Background and Key Points of This Story
Hiroko Taniyama is a singer-songwriter who has been active since the late 1970s. While she’s had few major hits under her own name, she has a long career as a composer through Yamaha’s music publishing arm, and the thread’s comparison of her to Miyuki Nakajima as someone with “serious political clout” likely points to that behind-the-scenes track record. Taniyama herself has not disclosed the nature of her current hospitalization, so the shingles theory floated in the thread remains pure speculation. It’s also worth noting that in Japan, a routine shingles vaccination program for people 65 and older began in fiscal year 2025, which is why posters were so fixated on whether she’d gotten the shot at age 70. As for the breast cancer, that’s a pre-existing diagnosis she already disclosed back in 2020 — not new information revealed this time.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Music] Hiroko Taniyama Reveals Diagnosis: “I’m Hospitalized and Undergoing Treatment” — Also Battled Breast Cancer in 2020.”
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