A few years ago, we reported on the career of gravure idol Yuka Kosaka, who abruptly quit the industry in 2009, gained a lot of weight, made a brief comeback (with a semi-nude shoot), and then settled into a quieter life as a nursery school teacher from the age of 24. She did that for around a decade now, though the 39-year-old has also restarted some activities in the entertainment industry since last year. It seems she no longer works as a teacher due to health issues and instead focuses on entrepreneurial projects launching new schools, consulting for schools, and doing counseling. She ...

What happens to the literally thousands of gravure idols, music idols, and minor porn stars when their careers dry up? Some go into prostitution, some get married. Still others become writers, like Nayuka Mine, or politicians, like Ayaka Shiomura or Renho. Well, some switch tracks completely, like Yuka Kosaka. She burst into the idol big time in 2004 when she won the Miss Young Magazine, and at her height was appearing on TV variety shows and in gravure shoots. Then in 2009 she retired and became something of a media joke due to her sudden weight gain. Her glory days seemed long ...