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Actor Ken Watanabe Undergoes Surgery for Early-Stage Stomach Cancer
posted on by Egan Loo
The agency of 56-year-old actor Ken Watanabe announced on Tuesday that he underwent an operation for stomach cancer in its early stages. The cancer was discovered during a full medical checkup in January, so Watanabe received laparoscopic surgery. He is now recuperating after the successful operation.
Watanabe was planning to return to the Broadway musical The King and I at New York City from March 1 to April 17, but those plans will be postponed. The actor said in a statement that he acknowledges the massive preparations being made to stage this production, but he asks for everyone's understanding if his return starts a little behind schedule. He received a Tony Award nomination during his original 2015 run in the King of Siam role.
Watanabe starred in such Japanese television and film productions as Ikebukuro West Gate Park for over two decades, before receiving international acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his role in The Last Samurai. His many other films since then include Memoirs of a Geisha, Batman Begins, Letters from Iwo Jima, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Shanghai, Inception, and Godzilla. He also voiced roles in such productions as Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Source: Yomiuri, Sports Nippon via Hachima Kikō
