Ria Yamada

In March 2025 Yamada announced that she was suffering from a serious autoimmune illness that required chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She said a donor had been found and that she hoped to dance again. In July 2025 she posted that she had been hospitalised to begin intensive treatment.

She died on 18 September 2026 at the age of 16, after more than a year of illness. Her family announced her death on her Instagram account on 24 September 2026. They did not disclose the specific illness or immediate cause of death, writing that she had endured the fight with remarkable strength and asking supporters to remember her dancing and her smile. Tributes followed from fans and from the Street Dance Girls Fighter 2 and Jam Republic communities. Memorial service details had not been made public at the time of the first reports.

Ria Yamada was born on 12 November 2009 in Japan. She began dance training at the age of six and showed early promise in hip-hop, popping and animation. By 13 she had been signed to a talent agency. She won first place at the Body Rock Junior Competition with a score of 99.7 and cultivated a personal fashion style on stage, including the habit of wearing two hats at once because she wanted a look that felt different from others.

Yamada entered Mnet's Street Dance Girls Fighter 2 in November 2023 as an individual Japanese contestant, becoming one of the first solo dancers featured on the show. After her first-stage performance she was selected by every mentor crew and chose to join Team Jam Republic. The crew, later known as Baby Jam, won the competition on the final live broadcast of 26 December 2023.

After the win she continued to perform as a soloist and with Baby Jam under Jam Republic The Agency. In interviews she spoke about the bond with her teammates and about treating dance as listening to the music and following the body's movement. Her public dance career paused in 2025 when she disclosed her illness and stepped back from performances to focus on treatment.

Yamada was Japanese and competed on a South Korean television programme that built her a following across Asia. She credited Nick, CEO of Jam Republic The Agency, whom she had met when she was 12, as a central supporter during her career and illness, and said she was proud to be part of the company. Beyond dance, detailed private biography was not widely published during her lifetime.

Yamada is remembered as a young Japanese dancer who won Street Dance Girls Fighter 2 with Jam Republic and as a member of Baby Jam. Fans and fellow dancers have pointed to her first-stage sweep of mentor choices, her distinctive style, and the courage of her public updates during illness. Her family's request that people keep remembering the dancing and the smile she was known for has shaped the tone of tributes that followed her death.