Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician and film composer, dies
Entertainment
He was mostly based in New York in recent years.
TOKYO (AP) — Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died. He was 71.
Japan’s recording company Avex said in a statement Sunday that Sakamoto died on March 28 while undergoing treatment for cancer.
He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. In 2022, he revealed that he had terminal cancer, a year after he disclosed suffering from rectal cancer.
Sakamoto was a pioneer of the electronics music of the late 1970s and founded the Yellow Magic Orchestra, also known as YMO, with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.
Takahashi died in January.
Despite his battle with cancer, Sakamoto released a full-length album “12” on his 71st birthday in January, stating that composing had a “small healing effect on my damaged body and soul,” according to the official statement released with the latest album.
He was a world-class musician, winning an Oscar and Grammy for the 1987 movie “The Last Emperor.”
Sakamoto was also an actor, starring in the BAFTA-winning 1983 film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”
He was mostly based in New York in recent years, though he regularly visited Japan.
Born in Tokyo in 1952, Sakamoto started studying music at the age of 10 and was influenced by Debussy and the Beatles.
