Ryuichi Sakamoto Diagnosed with Cancer

According to a statement published on his official site, legendary Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with throat cancer at the end of June. Regarding his health as his most important priority, Sakamoto has henceforth withdrawn from all professional commitments and projects in order to focus on treatment.

He apologizes and expresses his regret that he will no longer be able to appear at the First Sapporo International Art Festival 2014, for which he has been preparing for years. However, he has vowed to ensure that the festival's programme won't change and the event will be of the highest quality.

Other cancellations include a performance scheduled for July 30th at the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Sakamoto had planned to present new material at the performance.

In his statement, he also extended his apologies to everyone who has been collaborating with him on his various projects for the burden his hiatus will cast upon them. He has, however, promised to return to work once he's made a full recovery.

JaME would like to wish Ryuichi Sakamoto a very speedy recovery.