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Koji Yakusho actor portrait — Japan cinema

Koji Yakusho

Actor Japan Fan Score 4/5

Born in Isahaya, Japan

Who is Koji Yakusho?

Koji Yakusho is perfect Days lead and Asian Film Awards Best Actor winner. Their film and television work anchors discovery across Celluloid’s Stars directory and catalog titles.

Key Accolades & Awards

  • Major domestic and international screen recognition
  • High global search and streaming visibility
  • Perfect Days lead and Asian Film Awards Best Actor winner

Most searched questions about Koji Yakusho

Direct answers to the questions people search most about Koji Yakusho — written for quick scanning and AI overviews.

How old is Koji Yakusho?

Born January 1, 1956, in Isahaya, Nagasaki → 70. Real name Koji Hashimoto; his stage name references the government office (“yakusho”) where he once worked.

What awards has Koji Yakusho won?

Cannes Best Actor 2023 (Perfect Days); Asian Film Awards Best Actor twice; AFA Lifetime Achievement Award (Mar 2025); Golden Mulberry lifetime honor at Udine FEFF (April 2026, presented by Wim Wenders); Japan Academy’s most-nominated Best Actor ever.

Is Koji Yakusho married?

Married former actress Saeko Kawatsu in 1982; one son, Ichiro Hashimoto, also an actor.

What is Perfect Days about / was it Oscar-nominated?

Wim Wenders film (2023) — Yakusho plays Hirayama, a Tokyo public-toilet cleaner; nominated for Best International Feature at the 2024 Oscars; born from the real “Tokyo Toilet” project in Shibuya.

What is Koji Yakusho’s net worth?

Estimated figure: No reliable figure published — treat any aggregator estimate as unverified. Treat all celebrity net-worth figures as estimates — Celluloid does not audit private wealth.

How tall is Koji Yakusho?

179 cm (~5’10½”). See the Celluloid star profile for related credits and People’s Choice voting.

What are Koji Yakusho’s most famous movies?

Shall We Dance? (1996 — sparked a ballroom-dance craze in Japan; Hollywood remake 2004), Tampopo (1985), The Eel (1997, Palme d’Or), Cure (1997), 13 Assassins (2010); Hollywood: Memoirs of a Geisha, Babel.

How did Koji Yakusho become an actor?

Former Nagasaki civil servant; inspired by Gorky’s The Lower Depths; answered a newspaper ad — 1 of 4 chosen from ~800 applicants; mentored by Tatsuya Nakadai. 2026 is his 48th year as an actor.

What is Koji Yakusho doing now (2026)?

Received Udine’s Golden Mulberry lifetime honor in April 2026 with a 7-film tribute he personally approved.

Has Koji Yakusho worked in Hollywood?

Yes — Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Babel (2006); also directed one feature, Toad’s Oil (2009).

Celluloid Score career

From titles scored in the Celluloid catalogue.

Career average
88%
1 scored titles
Best rated
88%
Perfect Days

Where their Celluloid credits come from

Production country and primary language on titles in our catalogue — not personal nationality.

By country

By language

Ranked by Celluloid Score

Koji Yakusho titles in the Celluloid catalogue, sorted by Celluloid Score.

Top TMDB credits with character, festival, and worldwide box office.

Title Year Role Festival Box Office
Perfect Days 2023 Hirayama Cannes Film Festival $24M
Vivant 2023 Nogōn Beki
Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen 1990
Chotchan 1987 神谷容
Idaten: Tokyo Olympics Story 2019 嘉納治五郎
Tokugawa Ieyasu 1983 Oda Nobunaga
Lethal Three 1987
Inochi 1986 Naohiko Hamamura
Memoirs of a Geisha 2005 Nobu $162M
Back of Father 2014 Aoki Sosuke
Scarlet 2025 Claudius (voice) $2M
Babel 2006 Yasujiro Wataya $135M