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Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto Diagnosed With Rectal Cancer

posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Sakamoto beat throat cancer 6 years ago, but now says he will be "living alongside" cancer

Musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto announced on his official website on Thursday that he has been diagnosed with rectal cancer. He added that he has undergone surgery and is currently undergoing treatment, but noted that he will now be "living alongside" cancer, and hopes to "make music for a little while longer."

Sakamoto was earlier diagnosed with mesopharyngeal carcinoma (throat cancer) in 2014, but was treated, and the cancer went into remission. In 2015, he announced that he was "in great shape."

Sakamoto was born on January 17, 1952 in Tokyo. He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts and founded the pivotal electropop musical trio YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1978. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for The Last Emperor film in 1988. Sakamoto composed the soundtracks of The Wings of Honneamise, the Appleseed anime movies, and Le Chevalier D'Eon.

He received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France's Ministry of Culture in 2009, and served as a judge in the 2013 Venice Film Festival. His father was the late Kazuki Sakamoto, the editor for such well-known authors as Yukio Mishima and Hiroshi Noma.

Sources: Ryuichi Sakamoto's website, The Japan Times


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