Photo/Illutration Koji Yakusho, who won Best Actor for his role in the film “Perfect Days,” delivers a speech during the closing ceremony of the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on May 27. (Reuters photo)

CANNES--Koji Yakusho won the Best Actor Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his leading role in “Perfect Days,” directed by Germany’s Wim Wenders, the first Japanese actor in nearly two decades to do so. 

Yakusho, 67, ascended the stage at the awards ceremony on May 27 looking nervous.

“I love awards, but I don’t really like giving speeches at the Cannes Film Festival, which is such a spectacular event,” he said, prompting laughter.

He repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the jurors, film director and staff.

This is the first time in 19 years that a Japanese actor has won the award since Yuya Yagira, who earned it for his role in “Nobody Knows” in 2004 when he was 14 years old.

Yakusho jokingly said in an interview, “I wonder if I have finally caught up with Yagira.

“I must work hard not to disgrace this award,” he added.

Yakusho--who hails from Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture--had worked as a civil servant before transitioning to an acting career through the actor training school “Mumeijuku,” headed by actor Tatsuya Nakadai.

When his leading film “The Eel” won the top prize, called the Palme d’Or, at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, he accepted the trophy on behalf of director Shohei Imamura, who had returned to Japan earlier.

Beyond starring in Japanese movies, including “Cure” and “Under the Open Sky,” Yakusho also appeared in foreign films such as “Sayuri” and the Cannes Best Director award-winning “Babel.”

“Perfect Days” is set in Tokyo and produced in Japan. The movie tells the tale of a public toilet cleaner who leads a humble life, and it also depicts his mysterious past.

Wenders praised Yakusho during an interview at the festival. While placing his hand on Yakusho’s shoulder, Wenders, who reveres film director Yasujiro Ozu, said, “Chishu Ryu is here with me,” referring to the legendary actor symbolic of Ozu’s masterpiece works. 

Wenders said he watched the 1996 Japanese smash-hit film “Shall We Dance?” starring Yakusho three times and decided to choose him as the leading actor.

During the awards ceremony, when Yakusho’s name was called, Wenders applauded. Yakusho’s former teacher had praise for his former student.

“It’s wonderful,” Nakadai said. “As a fellow actor and Japanese, I am proud of him.”

The Best Screenplay prize went to Japanese screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto, 56, for his work on “Kaibutsu” (Monster).

Sakamoto won the first Fuji Television Young Scenario Award in 1987 at age 19.

Although he made his mark by creating hit trendy dramas, he has been increasingly addressing social themes in his work, such as exposing the dark side of education in “Our Textbook.”

“Kaibutsu” depicts an event that occurred at a school from the perspectives of a mother, a teacher and a child, each showing completely different views.

The work recalls the film “Rashomon,” directed by Akira Kurosawa, in which four witnesses describe a murder in four contradictory ways. 

“Kaibutsu” was directed by renowned director Hirokazu Kore-eda.

His works brought Best Actor awards to Yagira in 2004 and Song Kang-ho in 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival.

This time, however, Kore-eda has showcased the unique talents of Sakamoto, one of Japan’s leading TV drama scriptwriters, to the world.

(This article was written by Atsushi Ohara in Cannes and Noriki Ishitobi, a senior staff writer in Tokyo.)

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