TOM STOPPARD - STOPPARD LANDS PRESTIGIOUS JAPANESE ARTS AWARD

STOPPARD LANDS PRESTIGIOUS JAPANESE ARTS AWARD

Celebrated British playwright TOM STOPPARD has been awarded Japan's top arts prize, taking home a cheque worth $158,000 (£105,335).
The star was named among five recipients of the Praemium Imperiale, alongside Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel and fellow Brits Zaha Hadid, an architect, and sculptor Richard Long.
The prestigious accolade, which is supported by the country's imperial family, is one of the most lucrative honours in the arts world.
Stoppard is known for his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, as well as movie screenplays for films like the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love.
He will be presented with the award by Prince Hitachi, brother of Japan's Emperor Akihito, in a ceremony in Tokyo on 22 October (09).