Tokyo

Singer and TV star "Akiko" Wada has announced his intention to finally undergo a sex change operation. While not a first for stars regularly seen on television here (Yoshimoto's Masami Yamasaki had an addadictomy in 1997 to become Housei Yamasaki, altough it is believed the testicular transplant never took), this may well be the first time a man is to undertake a full lopitoffomy and continue to appear in the same guise as before.
"It's a natural step for me," said Wada in a recent interview. "I've been dressing like a woman for many years now, and we're hoping the operation will finally bring my voice up to a more feminine pitch and get rid of the permanent hang-dog expression."

Wada sprang to fame with the release of his hit song "Fuji Safari Park" in 1985. Starting as a TV commercial song, the ditty soon became a national hit and made Wada a household name. He soon had his own show "Akko ni Omakase", a highly successful variety show still running today, in which he dresses in women's clothes. Releasing a string of albums with his distinctive baritone croon, Wada has matured into a standard daytime sight on household televisions across the country. Before dressing as a woman, he was known as a feared Osaka gangster, backed by a group of Korean thugs known to be ruthless. So what spurred the change?
"I needed an image that would appeal to the average Japanese," Wada revealed. "By dressing up as a woman, people saw me as softer and more approachable. It also made my husky voice sound more soulful and less threatening. I was able to masquerade as a woman with a painful past as opposed to a man with a knife."

Wada expressed his wish to merge into the character he has created over the last twenty or so years:
"Since people only see me as Akko now, I may as well become her. With the voice becoming increasingly profound and husky, this may well be my last chance to jack it up to second or third tenor pitch with a sex change. This will help me sell more albums and hopefully keep my career going another 30 or 40 years as I settle into eunuchism."
Despite the softening image and the prospect of becoming a woman, in physical terms at least, Wada has expressed no intention of giving up Housei Yamasaki as his personal slave:
"I'll fuck that little poof up the arse with my pubic hair if I have to," he spat. "There's no way some little upstart girly-boy is getting uppity with me, dick or no dick. And that goes for Degawa too. I've got a sphincter ripple bigger than his excuse for a prick. They'll be pouring drinks for me long after 'Fuji Safari Park 3' is released. Which is pretty soon. Please buy it. I'm on the cover in a lioness suit."

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