After news of Haruo Mizuno's death made headlines on Tuesday, it was learned on Wednesday that another movie director passed away this week due to liver failure. Kan Mukai, whose real name was Hiroki Mukai, died on the night of June 9 after battling liver cancer for the past two years. He was 70 years old.

Mukai debuted in 1962 with "Futari no Shonen." One of his better known works is the 1997 film "Going West: Nishi e," which got a follow-up in 1999 titled "Furusato."