Ai Iijima

Ai Iijima (Japanese: 飯島 愛, Hepburn: Iijima Ai, October 31, 1972 – December 17, 2008) was a Japanese media personality, writer, activist and actress who was an AV idol early in her career, starring in more than 100 films. She later became the hostess on the nighttime television program, Gilgamesh Night, and transitioned away from AV work. After ending her career in adult videos, Iijima released a musical single Naisho DE Ai! Ai! (ナイショ DE アイ!アイ!) in July 1993 and soon became a regular on daytime TV talk shows. Iijima became involved in campaigns to educate the public about HIV/AIDS, a cause that few Japanese celebrities were willing to undertake.

On December 24, 2008 at about 3:30 p.m. (JST), Iijima was found dead in her 21st floor Tokyo apartment. Pathology examination showed she had died of pneumonia shortly after retiring from the public eye.