Born in 1964 in Japan. Japanese Director, Producer, Animator and Illustrator. He is visiting professor of Tokyo Zokei University, China Academy of Art and Aichi University of the Arts, a professor of Tokyo University of the Arts since 2008. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short, "Mt. Head" (2002) had 6 Grand Prizes and selected 100 Films for a Century of Animation. He has won Grand Prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Ottawa and Hiroshima, for "Mt. Head", "Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor" (2007), and his first feature film "Dozens of Norths" (2021), and has received more than 155 awards for his directorial work, including other awards such as the Grand Prix in Zagreb, Stuttgart or Krakow. "Extremely Short" (2024) is officially selected for Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes.