Japanese Film Director Yoichi Higashi Dies at 91

Tokyo, Jan. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese film director Yoichi Higashi, known for mega-hit 1992 movie "The River with No Bridge," died of old age at a hospital in Tokyo on Jan. 21. He was 91.

After graduating from university, Higashi, who is from Wakayama Prefecture, joined a film production company. After leaving the company, he made his first narrative film in 1971.

He received many awards including a rookie prize for arts, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, for his 1978 movie "Third Base." The story of the film takes place in a juvenile reformatory.

"Village of Dreams," a 1996 film directed by Higashi, received a Silver Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival, gaining global recognition.

He received from the Japanese government in 1999 the Medal with Purple Ribbon, an honor given to people who made great achievements in academia, sports and arts, and in 2007 the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]