Kazuya Yamada (b. 1954, Kochi, Japan) earned a degree in agrarian sciences at the University of Tokyo. After studying communication at the School of Fine Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA, he worked as free lance TV director for Tak Inagaki Production, New York, and Nippon Television Network. Documentaries to his credit include I Love My Town Kobe (1996), Physically Challenged: Can't End Up Like This 2000 Days to Independence (2003), as well as numerous award-winning reportages for major Japanese TV networks.