Biography
Masato Hara was a Japanese film producer and executive. Born on 18 November 1931 in Saitama Prefecture, he graduated from Waseda University before entering the industry. In 1958 he joined the distributor Nippon Herald, later moving into production and distribution.
Hara produced Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) and served as executive producer on Nagisa Ōshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). He was also involved in Ring (1998) and its sequels, as well as earlier Kurosawa projects including Dersu Uzala (1975). In 1981 he founded Herald Ace and later held senior roles at Asmik Ace until retiring in 2017. He died on 17 March 2021.
