Aoi Fujino, Japanese Instagram Model, Dies at 27

People reports that Aoi Fujino, a Japanese Instagram model, died on Jan. 5 at age 27, her mother said in a statement posted to social media. Fujino maintained a following of more than 70,000 on Instagram and was a well-known model across Japan who often shared photos from her life and shoots.

She openly documented living with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare, aggressive soft tissue cancer, after receiving a diagnosis in January 2023. On Dec. 31 she announced her retirement from content creation in an emotional letter, writing, as translated from Japanese to English, "To be honest, I am extremely disappointed that my retirement has come to an end in this way," and "I feel that this is not the way that anyone, including myself, had hoped." Fujino said she had returned to her hometown the previous July and had been "in poor health ever since," adding, "Everything is getting worse, and it really feels like anything could happen at any time.

I’m fighting a daily battle with my body, which is on the edge of its limits." She first sought care after losing partial hearing in her right ear, underwent a biopsy that found a malignant tumor and began chemotherapy shortly after.

Key Topics

Culture, Aoi Fujino, Instagram, Rhabdomyosarcoma, Japan, Chemotherapy