Actor Chosuke Ikariya of comedy group Drifters dies at 72

Actor Chosuke Ikariya of comedy group Drifters dies at 72

TOKYO, Japan - Chosuke Ikariya (file photo), an actor and leader of the Drifters, one of Japan's best known slapstick comedy groups, died on March 20 at a Tokyo hospital after battling lymph node cancer for nearly a year. He was 72. Ikariya, whose real given name was Choichi, and four other men formed the Drifters 40 years ago in 1964 and it became one of the biggest successes in Japanese comedy. In 1966, the group acted as a curtain-raiser for The Beatles' concert when the British band visited Japan.

Farmer checks rice deriving from seeds gathered in Nagasaki after A-bombing

Farmer checks rice deriving from seeds gathered in Nagasaki after A-bombing

Choichi Ueno checks rice grown from seeds deriving from those collected in Nagasaki in 1945 after the atomic bombing of the southwestern Japanese city, as seen in this photo taken in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture, on Oct. 18, 2015. Ueno is among more than 20 farmers cultivating such "radiated rice" to remember the A-bombing tragedy. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Actor Chosuke Ikariya of comedy group Drifters dies at 72

Actor Chosuke Ikariya of comedy group Drifters dies at 72

TOKYO, Japan - Chosuke Ikariya (file photo), an actor and leader of the Drifters, one of Japan's best known slapstick comedy groups, died on March 20 at a Tokyo hospital after battling lymph node cancer for nearly a year. He was 72. Ikariya, whose real given name was Choichi, and four other men formed the Drifters 40 years ago in 1964 and it became one of the biggest successes in Japanese comedy. In 1966, the group acted as a curtain-raiser for The Beatles' concert when the British band visited Japan. (Kyodo)