The Asian Film Awards Academy announced today that the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award at the 16th Asian Film Awards will be presented to renowned Japanese actor ABE Hiroshi (阿部寬, あべ ひろし). ABE Hiroshi will attend the 16th Asian Film Awards Presentation Ceremony in Hong Kong in March to receive the award.

ABE Hiroshi’s acting career has spanned more than 30 years. His first appearance was in Haikara-san ga Toru in 1987. Since then, ABE has taken on daring and challenging roles, from playing a bisexual Chief Detective officer in The Atami Murder Case to a dissolute husband grappling with family relationships in After the Storm, ABE has successfully integrated himself into each role, giving each character a unique charisma.

Since 1987, ABE has appeared in more than 90 films, both at home and abroad. In 1990, ABE starred in the Hong Kong film Saga of the Phoenix, and was a guest star in the Taiwanese TV series Spring of Miscanthus floridulus (1997). In 2000 he was featured with Hong Kong stars Tony LEUNG Chiu Wai and Ekin CHENG in the action movie Tokyo Raiders. He appears in the impressive Thai action film Chocolate and the Sino-Japanese co-production The Legend of the Demon Cat. As one of the first Japanese actors to develop his career outside Japan, ABE Hiroshi has become famous in the Greater China region and one of the most an influential talents in Asia.