Oscar-winning Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto dead at 71

Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto is no more. The award-winning musician was a part of the world-famous electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). The 71-year-old musician died in his office.

Sakamoto was receiving treatment for cancer. In June 2022, he revealed that he was battling stage 4 cancer.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, apart from being a renowned musician was also an actor. He also starred in the 1983 war film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. He won an Oscar and a Grammy for making the music score for the 1987 film The Last Emperor.

Tokyo press reveals that a funeral for Sakamoto was held recently. Only close relatives were a part of the service.

During his career, Sakamoto also became a voice for environmental and peace issues. He was actively involved in the anti-nuclear power movement in recent years in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by a killer earthquake and tsunami.

Sakamoto was inspired by the Beatles and French composer Claude Debussy. He started studying music writing at the age of 10. In 1978, Sakamoto formed YMO with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. Their futuristic techno-pop music, making full use of synthesizers, was in sync with the times in the late 1970s, when the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the arcade game Space Invaders became hits.

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