Yoshiko Yamaguchi, songstress who bridged divide
Yoshiko "Shirley" Yamaguchi would have sunk into historical obscurity in Hong Kong and on the mainland except for a classic Canto-pop song.
Her death at the age of 94 earlier this month in Tokyo has been widely reported in Hong Kong and also noted in mainland publications.
She deserved the attention because both as an artist and member of the Japanese parliament, she worked tirelessly to improve Sino-Japanese relations. At a time of rising tensions between the two nations, the cross-cultural understanding she brought to her life's work will be all the more important for peace in the region.
Born to Japanese parents in pre-war Manchuria, Yamaguchi came to fame starring in movies such as the pro-Japanese China Nights and singing such hit songs as Fragrance of the Night and Suzhou Serenade. After the war, she was almost executed as a traitor until she revealed she was, in fact, Japanese.
Exiled from the country of her birth, she pursued a successful film career in Japan, starring in legendary director Akira Kurosawa's Scandal and later in Samuel Fuller's A House of Bamboo.
Between 1974 and 1992, she was a member of the upper house of Japan's parliament, a post she used to promote improved relations between China and Japan. One of her causes was to address Japanese wartime military brothels and the sexual slavery they institutionalised, a major issue that still strains Japan's ties with countries in the region.