NHK has announced that the music documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days” was awarded the most prestigious Special Prize in Honour of the President of the Italian Republic at the 77th edition of the Prix Italia Award Ceremony held on October 24, 2025 in Naples. This Special Prize is selected among all nominated programs and is awarded to a program featuring innovative language which best expresses content of acknowledged cultural and artistic quality. The documentary was also awarded a Prix Italia for the best in the TV Performing Arts category. “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days” won a Rose d‘Or in the Arts category at the 63rd Rose d’Or Awards 2024 and is also nominated for the 2025 International Emmy® Awards.

The Prix Italia is one of the most highly esteemed international competitions for television, radio/podcast, and digital content organized by the Italian public broadcaster RAI since 1948. The jury commented “This film, through its elegant and restrained cinematography, subtle use of silence, and fragments of Sakamoto’s music, diary and the voices of his family and friends, depicts the fragile yet beautiful radiance of life and art. While portraying the final moments of life, it transcends them into a reflection on what it truly means to live — a work that is graceful, profoundly human, and filled with quiet hope. It reminds us that creativity can shine with the greatest intensity even at the very moment when life is fading.”

■Winner of the Special Prize in Honour of the President of the Italian Republic

■Winner of the Prix Italia in the TV Performing Arts

 

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days (First broadcast on April 7, 2024, 1 x 59 min., Produced by NHK, Distributed by NHK Enterprises)

In March 2023, musician Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away. As a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto catapulted into international fame with his innovations in electro music. The Oscar-winning composer was also known for his pursuit of a wide range of styles. In his final years after receiving a terminal diagnosis, Sakamoto filled his diary with honest directness. “It’s a death sentence.” “Better to choose euthanasia?” “Music may be the only way to keep my sanity.” “Music to leave behind, Music not to leave behind.” His hitherto unknown relationship with other YMO members, his unreleased music―with incredible access to his diaries and private footage provided by Sakamoto’s bereaved family, the program follows how one of the greatest musicians of the era grappled with death and lived out his final days.

NHK’s Kenichi MATSUMIYA, the executive producer expresses his delight upon hearing the news, “In these times of devastating conflicts and disasters unfolding around the world, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music helps us find solace and inner peace. I feel honored that this program has received NHK’s Documentary Wins Big at the Prix Italia worldwide recognition, but at the same time, I also feel a greater sense of responsibility as a documentary filmmaker. What is the role of TV documentaries in this modern day and age? This is a question I will continue to delve into further.”