Hailing from Kitakyushu in Fukuoka, he founded the theatre company Otona Keikaku in 1988, attracting collaborators such as Kankuro Kudo and Sadao Abe. His play Fankī! Uchū wa mieru tokoro made shika nai earned the Kishida Prize for Drama in 1997, and his screenplay for Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad won the Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year in 2008; he has also been twice…
