Ichihara was hospitalised in early December 2018. This was because she had issues with her cecum. She got better and appeared on a Japanese talk show on 21 December 2018. She left the hospital on 30 December 2018. She was hospitalised again on 5 January 2019. She died on 12 January 2019 from heart failure at the age of 82. This was in a Tokyo hospital.