Born in Tokyo in 1977. He directed Annyong Kimchi in 1999 as his graduating work for the Japan Institute of the Moving Images and has appeared at film festivals around the world, receiving a New Asian Currents Award from the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. His 2007 documentary The Virgin Wildsides made waves even outside film circles, and was followed by another big success in 2009 with Annyong Yumika , which earned a Mainichi Film Award. One of Japan’s leading independent film directors, he also reviews movies for magazines and television, and has published six books.