Sultry-voiced Aki Yashiro, beloved as the “queen of enka” (Japanese ballads), died of rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia on Dec. 30, her office announced on Jan. 9. She was 73.

Yohei Yashiro and Shuya Yamamoto already knew each other before a drinking party in January 2019 with some 20 colleagues. Kind of. Despite joining Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) the same year ...