Departures of note

Masahiko Akuta was a Japanese playwright and actor who founded the Alpha Agency talent agency in 1976 together with Nakajima Aoi and Bandai Hiromi. The agency went on to represent prominent actors including Toyokawa Etsushi and Ito Sairi. In 1978 the three founders established the theater group Homo Fictus ACT & AOI, for which Bandai served as producer of all its performances. Akuta died of acute myocardial infarction on 27 October 2026, at a time when the agency was approaching its fiftieth anniversary.