Film director Nagisa Oshima and veteran actor Ken Ogata are among 29 recipients of this fall's Medal with Purple Ribbon for their contributions to the arts and academia.
The Emperor will have audiences with the recipients, who are chosen by the government, at the Imperial Palace on Nov. 13 and 14.
Internationally renowned director Oshima, 68, who made his debut in 1959, has covered contemporary topics such as eroticism and the student protest movement against the renewal of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1960.