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The renowned Japanese composer and producer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died aged 71.

He first found fame in the 1970s as a member of the electronic music band "Yellow Magic Orchestra" and during the solo career that followed he gained worldwide recognition for a pioneering sound that earned him the mantle of "the grandfather of electronic pop music".

But he's best known for his film scores for movies such as The Last Emperor - for which he won an Oscar and a Grammy - and for Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, in which he also acted opposite David Bowie.

In his native Japan, Mr Sakamoto was also famous as an environmental campaigner, especially after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

Marié Abe is an associate professor of music at Boston University - where she researches, among other things, Japanese music. The Japanese academic told Newshour's Julian Marshall about Mr Sakamoto's musical background, career, and legacy.

(Photo shows Ryuichi Sakamoto at the 70th Venice Film Festival in 2013. Credit: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)

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