Hara Masato, Leading Japanese Film Producer, Dies at 89
Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentHara Masato, a producer and executive who worked with Kurosawa Akira, Oshima Nagisa and other leading Japanese filmmakers in a seven-decade career, died on March 17 at age 89 of heart failure, distributor Asmik Ace announced Monday.Hara was the company’s first president, starting in 1998. He later served as executive advisor until his retirement in 2017.Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1931, Hara entered the film business following his graduation from Waseda University, working in production and promotion under such veteran directors as Imai Tadashi and Yamamoto Satsuo.In 1958 he joined distributor Nippon Herald, where he was in charge of marketing, while branching out into distribution and production.