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TOKYO (AP) — Ryuichi Sakamoto, the world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who wrote the music for Hollywood hits including “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died. He is 71 years old.
Sakamoto died on March 28 while undergoing cancer treatment, Japanese record label Avex said in a statement on Sunday.
He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. In 2022, he revealed he had terminal cancer, and a year later he revealed he had rectal cancer.
A pioneer of electronic music in the late 1970s, Sakamoto co-founded Yellow Magic, also known as YMO, with Harutomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.
Takahashi died in January.
Despite battling cancer, Sakamoto released a full-length album, 12, on his 71st birthday in January, and according to an official statement from the release of the latest album, he said the composition was “slightly healing to my damaged body and soul.” effect”.
He is a world-class musician who has won Oscar and grammy The 1987 film “The Last Emperor”.
Sakamoto is also an actor and has starred in 1983 Bafta Award-Winning Film “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.”
Although he often visits Japan, in recent years he has mainly lived in New York.
Born in Tokyo in 1952, Sakamoto started studying music at the age of 10 and was deeply influenced by Debussy and The Beatles.
Avex’s statement said that despite his illness, he continued to make music in his home studio when he was feeling relatively well. “In the last days of his life, he coexisted with music,” it said.
The statement expressed his gratitude to the doctors who treated him in the United States and Japan, as well as to all his fans around the world. It cites Sakamoto’s beloved phrase: “Ars longa, vita brevis,” which refers to the longevity of art, no matter how short a human life may be.
Sakamoto has also left his mark as a pacifist and environmental activist. He spoke out against nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown in March 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami.
He has attended and spoken at rallies in Tokyo and is among a group of revered Japanese artists, such as the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe, who are unafraid to take unpopular positions on political issues.
At a rally in July 2012, he took to the stage and read notes on his iPhone, warning Japan not to risk his life for electricity.
“Life is more important than money,” he said in Japanese, before adding in English, “It is barbaric to keep silent after Fukushima.”
He’s also appeared in an ad for Nissan’s electric car, though he admits he’s come under fire for being too commercial. At his New York home, he gets electricity from a company that relies on renewable energy, he said.
“As fossil fuels and nuclear power decline, we will diversify how we generate electricity,” Sakamoto told The Associated Press in a 2012 interview. “People should be able to choose the type of electricity they want to use.”
The Avex statement said the funeral has been held with family and close friends.
Sakamoto leaves behind his daughter, Miu Sakamoto, who is a musician. On her Instagram, she posts the years of her father’s life — from January 17, 1952 to March 28, 2023 — along with a photo of the battered, half-broken piano. He is separated from his ex-wife, singer-songwriter Akiko Yano.
Associated Press Writer Juwon Park in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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