Japanese writer Junichi Watanabe [File photo]

Famed Japanese writer Junichi Watanabe passed away at the age of 80 on April 30 in Tokyo.

Watanabe was an orthopedist-turned-writer and died of prostate cancer.

The author was known for his portrayal of extra-marital affairs of middle-aged people and most famous for his novel masterpiece "A Lost Paradise."

He wrote more than 50 novels in total and many of his works were turned into films and TV miniseries.

He won several awards, including the Naoki Prize in 1970 for "Light and Shadow," the New Current Coterie magazine prize for "Makeup" and the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize in 1979 for "The Setting Sun in the Distance."

Japan's Sapporo city has set up a museum to commemorate the native Hokkaido novelist.

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