Japanese director Takita Yojiro (pictured above) is one of 178 people invited to join the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences this year. Takita is most well-known for his 2008 film "Okuribito" (aka "Departures"), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Right now, the Academy has a little under 6000 members. Japanese actor Watanabe Ken is already a member, and others who received an invitation this year include "The King's Speech" director Tom Hooper, singer Beyonce, and actor Jesse Eisenberg.

Takita has expressed he will be accepting the invitation, which means he will have a voting right during the selection process for the Academy Awards. He commented, "...I will be happy to accept. The filming for (my film) 'Tenchi Meisatsu' has just started, so receiving this happy news was great encouragement. For now, I want to focus on my new work."

Source + Photo: Mainichi Shimbun