Voice actor Norio Tsukui, who has voiced the popular character "Nyan Chu" on NHK Educational TV for 30 years, will release his book "Living with a Smile with ALS: The Ingenuity Factory of a Voice Actor Who Lost His Voice" (Kodansha) on April 27th. Tsukui, who announced in October 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the incurable disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), has written the book "with his hands, mouth and eyes."
ALS is a disease in which the body becomes immobile despite the patient remaining conscious, and is designated as an incurable disease. Although there are treatments that can slow the progression of the disease, the cause and treatment are still unknown. In 2019, Tsukui had difficulty walking, but by 2020 he was no longer able to lift his arms, and as of February 2026, the disease had progressed to the point where he could no longer move his body.
Even so, she wrote the manuscript using eye input, detailing the events leading up to her diagnosis of ALS, what inspired her to become a voice actor, what it's like on set, what she's been thinking since the onset of the disease, how she's spending her time, and the ways she's coming up with new ideas for coping each day.
Tsukui has been active in many anime and stage productions, including "Nyan Chu" and "Chibi Maruko-chan." As the series progressed, her fingers became less mobile, so she switched to typing with a chopstick held in her mouth, typing each character one by one, and when she was no longer able to move her neck, she switched to eye contact typing.
The source of his cheerfulness as he continues to take on challenges at the "When You Can't Do It Anymore Meeting" is his wife, Masako, who is his partner in the "Married Couple Manzai." When he was informed of his illness, she said, "You always do flashy things at these turning points," and when he lost consciousness due to breathing difficulties and was on the verge of having a tracheotomy, she said to him, "It's good to be alive."
Tsukui, who continued to perform Nyan Chu for three years even after being diagnosed with the disease, has done his best to leave behind a record of the laughter, tears, and ingenuity he has experienced so far, and the book also contains valuable testimonials from people who are receiving care and those who have been fitted with gastrostomy tubes or respirators.
