GettyThe guitarist Mikio Fujioka, of Japanese heavy metal idol band Babymeta,l has died at the age of 36.
The band posted a tribute to Facebook earlier today (January 9) saying:
The “Little” Guitar Kami of #BABYMETAL’s #Kamiband has passed away in the METAL GALAXIES.
We hope that he is now with his GUITAR MASTER A.Holdsworth and enjoying an epic guitar session with him.
Fujioka was a long-term member of Babymetal, joining the band in 2013, providing a clean and technical shredding style to the band’s music.
The “Little” Guitar Kami of #BABYMETAL ‘s #Kamiband has passed away in the METAL GALAXIES. We hope that he is now with…
Posted by BABYMETAL on Tuesday, 9 January 2018
The band’s tribute concluded:
We are the one
Together
We’re the only one
You are the one
Forever
#RIP #THEONE
Mikio was born on January 19, 1981 and was known by fans of the band as Ko-Gami or The Little God.
Metro reports Mikio fell from a height while at an observation desk on December 30 and later died on January 5, after his condition rapidly deteriorated.
It’s believed Mikio’s wife took over his Twitter account following the accident, posting the heartbreaking news to fans:
訃報のお知らせ
ギタリスト藤岡幹大が平成29年12月30日に天体観測中高所から落ち療養の最中、平成30年1月5日夜容態が急変し娘2人に見守られながら享年36歳で永眠いたしました。— 藤岡幹大(仮) (@mikio158cm) January 9, 2018
The post, translated by Bing, said:
Obituary notice guitarist Fujioka stem large 12/30/2017 from the Astronomical Observatory in high, amid a falling chest 1/5/2018 night her condition rapidly and, while being watched by two daughters has died at the age of 36.
Our thoughts are with Mikio’s family, friends, bandmates and fans.
Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.