
Junji Sakamoto was born in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, in 1958. After working as a set assistant or assistant director, he made his directorial debut in 1989 with
Knockout, which won numerous honors, including the Directors Guild of Japan’s New Director Award. In 2000, he won Japanese Academy’s Best Director Award and many other awards for his masterpiece,
Face. His other remarkable films include
Tekken (1990),
Tokarev (1994),
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (2000),
KT (2002),
Out of this World (2004),
Children of the Dark (2008),
Someday (2011),
A Chorus of Angels (2012), and
Human Trust (2013).