Sai Yoichi, Director Of Japanese Film 'all Under The Moon,' Dies


Sai Yoichi, director of Japanese film 'All Under the Moon,' dies

Sai Yoichi, who directed the 1993 Japanese film "All Under the Moon," has died. He was 73.

Sai was born in the Japanese prefecture of Nagano in 1949.

After serving as assistant director for renowned auteur Oshima Nagisa's 1976 film "In the Realm of the Senses," Sai made his debut as a cinema director in 1983.

Sai rose to fame for directing "All Under the Moon," which described the stories of foreigners living in Japan, including an ethnic Korean taxi driver as the protagonist.

Sai won a Japan Academy Film Prize for best director for the 2004 film "Blood and Bones," which stars Kitano Takeshi.

Sai was president of the Directors Guild of Japan for 18 years from 2004.

He publicly disclosed in January of this year that he had bladder cancer.

Sai's office says he died at his home in Tokyo on Sunday morning.