Japanese film director Masato Harada, known for socially conscious works, has died at the age of 76. He passed away on Monday, with the announcement made by his agency on Saturday.
Masato Harada, born in Shizuoka Prefecture, made his directorial debut in 1979. He gained international attention with "Kamikaze Taxi," released in 1995, which received strong reviews overseas. His major works include "Jubaku: Spellbound," a 1999 film depicting financial scandals, and "The Choice of Hercules," released in 2002 and based on the 1972 hostage crisis at the Asama Sanso mountain lodge in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
The 2008 movie "Climber’s High," adapted from a novel by Hideo Yokoyama about the 1985 Japan Airlines jumbo jet crash, won excellence awards in 10 categories at the Japan Academy Film Prize. Harada also directed "Chronicle of My Mother," a 2012 film based on an autobiographical novel by Japanese writer Yasushi Inoue. It received the special grand prix of the jury at the Montreal World Film Festival.
Harada was recognized for his socially conscious films both in Japan and abroad. Tsubasa Project, an agency with a business partnership with him, announced his death.