was a Japanese freelance

newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

and actress. She was also one of

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

's weathercasters.

Early life and education

Kobayashi was born in 1982 in

Ojiya, Niigata is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,704 in 12,758 households, and a population density of 224 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Ojiya is located in an inland re ...

, the younger of two children. Her family moved between Saitama, Saitama and

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of ...

, Hyogo seven times before settling in

Arakawa, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The ward takes its name from the river, the Arakawa, though the Arakawa River does not run through or touch the ward. Its neighbors are the wards of Adachi, Kita, Bunkyo, Taito and Sumi ...

when she was in high school. Her sister is Maya Kobayashi (b. 1979). Kobayashi attended Kokugakuin Senior High School. In 2005, she graduated from the department of psychology at

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

Career

While still in university, she gained attention for starring in

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

's talk program ''Koi no kara Sawagi''. From October 2003 to September 2006, Kobayashi served as the weather caster for

's ''Mezamashi Saturday''. She was appointed as the navigator for a corner on Fuji TV's ''Junk Sports'' in April 2004. In October 2006, Kobayashi became a presenter for the ''News Zero'' program on the

Nippon Television Network JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed sub ...

. In June 2004, Kobayashi made her acting debut as a flight attendant in the Fuji TV

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

''Division 1: Pink Hip Girl''. During an interview for ''News Zero'', she met

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

actor

Ichikawa Ebizō XI may refer to: Places *Ichikawa, Chiba, a city in Chiba, Japan ** Ichikawa Gakuen (Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School), a large private boys and girls school in Moto-kita-kata, Ichikawa, Chiba * Ichikawa, Hyogo, a town in Hyōgo, Japan *Ichikaw ...

. On 19 November 2009, they announced that they were dating with the intent of marriage and were to be formally engaged sometime in December 2009. The couple registered their marriage on 3 March 2010 and held their wedding reception at The Prince Park Tower on 29 July 2010. Upon marriage, Kobayashi retired from television to focus on raising a family. She gave birth to their first child, daughter Reika, on 25 July 2011. On 22 March 2013, she gave birth to their second child, son Kangen.

Personal life

Kobayashi was married to Takatoshi Horikoshi (aka

), an actor. Kobayashi had two children, a daughter Reika and a son Kangen Horikoshi.

Illness and death

Kobayashi was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in October 2014 but kept her illness a secret. On 9 June 2016, her husband announced her condition at a press conference after the tabloid, Sports Hochi, ran a front-page scoop about her ordeal. The cancer had reached stage four and spread to her bones and lungs. In November 2016, the BBC announced that she was one of the BBC's ' 100 Women 2016' — a list of inspirational and influential women for 2016 — after she started a blog about her illness and how she was dealing with it. Titled 'Kokoro', it became one of the most popular blogs in Japan. Kobayashi died of cancer on 22 June 2017.

Filmography

Film

*'' Tokyo Friends: The Movie'' (2006) *'' Captain'' (2007) *''

A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies is a 2007 Japanese film directed by Ryuichi Inomata. It was released in Japanese cinemas on 8 December 2007. It is based on a true story in the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake. This story has frequently been reported in the media and has also made into ...

'' (2007)

Television

* ''Division 1: Pink Hip Girl'' (Fuji TV, 2004) – Emi Saeki * ''

Tokyo Friends is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on television but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. ...

'' (Fuji TV, 2005) – Maki Abiko * ''Slow Dance'' (2005) – Ayumi Hirose * '' Unfair'' (Fuji TV, 2006) – Rieko Matsumoto * '' Happy!'' (TBS, 2006) – Choko Ryugasaki * ''Oishii Propose'' (TBS, 2006) – Saori Shimazaki * '' Taiyou no Uta'' (TBS, 2006) – Yuuko Miura * ''Happy! 2'' (TBS, 2006) – Choko Ryugasaki

References

External links

Mao Kobayashi Blog - KOKORO
Please don't hide behind the illness.

*
BBC NEWS
- BBC 100 Women 2016
BBC NEWS
- BBC 100 Women 2016:Kokoro the cancer blog gripping Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Kobayashi, Mao Japanese television actresses Japanese film actresses Japanese announcers 1982 births 2017 deaths Sophia University alumni 21st-century Japanese actresses Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Japan BBC 100 Women Actors from Niigata Prefecture