Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at the age of 71. Sakamoto, “The Last Emperor,” “Merry Christmas,” “Mr. Lawrence and The Revenant.
In Japan, Sakamoto rose to prominence in the late 1970s as a member of the three-piece synthesizer rock band Yellow Magic Orchestra. The group was a pioneer in the electronic music scene. The group also achieved international success and was nominated for several Grammys.
Sakamoto won an Oscar in 1988 for his music in The Last Emperor. He became the first Japanese to win the Best Original Music Score award. He also wrote the soundtrack for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). The film starred British pop icon David Bowie.
The title song of the soundtrack became a worldwide hit:
In 1992, Sakamoto composed music for the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympics, which attracted more than a billion spectators.
Sakamoto was married three times and had four children. In January 2021, she announced that she had been diagnosed with rectal cancer and was recovering from surgery. “I am currently living with cancer, but I hope to continue making music for a while,” he wrote on his website.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
