Who was Ryuchell aka Ryucheru? Trans Japanese TV star found dead at agent's office

Transgender Japanese television star Ryuji Higa, better known as Ryuchell, was found dead at the age of 27 at their agent's office in Tokyo. The social media personality's unconscious body was found on July 12 in Shibuya and they were declared dead shortly after.

According to The Japan Times, the authorities concerned are investigating the cause of death, but are also considering the possibility of them dying by suicide. This comes after Higa announced in 2022 that they do not identify as male.

Ryuchell, a prominent figure in Japan, emerged as a highly influential personality within the LGBTQIA+ community. Known for their distinctive genderless fashion sense, they have captivated the attention of many. As their fame grew, they found themselves at the center of a relentless wave of online social harassment campaigns that targeted their personal life and non-conforming gender identity.

Soon after the news of their demise went viral, Twitterati paid tribute to them and hashtags "Ryuchell" and "character assassination" began trending on the social media platform.

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All you need to know about Ryuchell

Born on September 25, 1995, Ryuji Higa was a native of Okinawa, Japan. After graduating from high school, they moved to Tokyo and started working at clothing boutiques located in Harajuku. Side by side, they were also active on Instagram and gained popularity as an influencer for advocating “genderless-kei” fashion.

As per news outlet Tokyo Fashion, Higa served as an inspiration to many who wanted to explore the "androgynous" style of clothing and wanted to create a new genderless style of beauty.

In 2016, Ryuchell tied the knot with model and social media personality Tetsuko Okuhira, also known as Peco. They met when they were 18 and welcomed their first child in 2018. The duo frequently appeared on several television programs.

In August 2022, Ryuchell and Peco announced their divorce after the former announced that they no longer identified as male. The social media influencer faced severe backlash online.

The pair claimed that they were divorcing to establish a "new kind of family" in which they would jointly raise their kid.

While speaking to Very Magazine in September 2022, Higa revealed that they had questioned their image as an "ideal husband" before coming out to their former wife, Peco.

"Being able to fall in love with a woman allowed me to imagine a life completely different from the one I thought I would have and taught me joys I never knew existed. Somewhere along the way, I began to struggle with the concept of being the 'ideal man' and the 'ideal husband' and who I really was."

Ryuchell's death came just a day after Peco shared a picture of their son celebrating his fifth birthday.

Peco and their son were not in Japan at the time of the social media personality's death, but returned on July 13.