Yutaka Ozaki

He was born in Tokyo Setagaya Ward SDF Central Hospital to Kinue and Kenichi Ozaki. He had one older brother, Yasushi. Early in life, he was hospitalized with intestinal torsion and bronchitis which subsequently weakened his internal organs. In 1973 he began studying martial arts and continued training throughout his life. In January 1975 he began playing piano and in March of that year, he wrote his first poem. His first live performance was in 1978 at his school's cultural festival. He was discovered by producer Akira Sudo and signed to CBS Sony in 1983.

Yutaka Ozaki debuted in December 1983 while he was still attending high school with his hit single "Jūgo no Yoru" (15の夜, "A night at Fifteen") and his album Seventeen's Map (十七歳の地図, Jū-nana-sai no Chizu, literal translation: "The Map of a Seventeen Year Old"). He gained tremendous support from his younger fanbase with his devastating live performances along with his unique lyrics that expressed dreams and love or the meaning of life. He represented the angst of adolescence, and a lot of the times attacked what he felt was unfair in society or schools.

On April 25, 1992, Ozaki was found naked, drunk and unconscious in a Tokyo alleyway. He was taken by ambulance but was soon dismissed from the hospital. He died several hours later.[1][2] The cause of death was reported as pulmonary edema but many theories have arisen as to the actual cause of death, the most popular being homicide. He was survived by his wife, Shigemi, and his son, Hiroya Ozaki.[3]

Ozaki's grave at Shibuya Cross Tower in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Thelma Aoyama, Akina Nakamori, Mika Nakashima, Kazumasa Oda, Ryuichi Kawamura, Hikaru Utada, Ayaka, Kobukuro, Tsuyoshi Domoto and many other Japanese artists have covered Ozaki's song, "I Love You". American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson recorded an English-language cover of "I Love You" in her 2010 album Ms. Vocalist. In addition, American guitarist Marty Friedman recorded an instrumental cover of "I Love You" in his 2011 album Tokyo Jukebox 2. Nanase Aikawa, Goto Maki, MINMI and Tomiko Van have covered "Oh My Little Girl". Shunsuke Kiyokiba also has covered two of his songs, "Taiyou no Hahen" (太陽の破片, "Fragments of the Sun") and "Futatsu no Kokoro" (ふたつの心, "Two Hearts"). Shimizu Shota covered his song, "Forget-Me-Not" and Mr. Children has covered "Boku ga Boku de Aru tame ni" (僕が僕であるために, "Me to Being Me") on "ap' bank fes. 2010". In 2013, K-pop artist and main vocalist of Big Bang, Daesung (known in Japan as "D-Lite") covered "I Love You" and it was used as the theme song for the drama I Love You. In 2014, Tamai Shiori of Momoiro Clover Z, sang a cover of "Graduation" for a special concert.

A 2011 TV-drama called Kaze no Shounen portrayed his life and in depth early career, from meeting his manager Sudo to his death.[4] He was played by Hiroki Narimiya.

• Yutaka Ozaki Official Site (in Japanese)
• Yutaka Ozaki - Sony Music Records (in Japanese)
• Yutaka Ozaki English Site