One of the few figures in contemporary Japanese popular music to have found an international audience, firstly with the successful Yellow Magic Orchestra. Ryuichi began composing for films in 1983 with "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," in which he also portrayed Captain Yonoi, and won an Oscar for the haunting score of "The Last Emperor" (1987), co-written with David Byrne and Cong Su. Ryuichi Sakamoto died on March 28, 2023 at the age of 71.