 He was awarded the 23rd Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature (1989) for "Aizu Shikon" ("The Soul of Aizu Samurai").Many of his works have been adapted into movies or television series.In 2006, he was elected the chairman of the Japanese P.E.N.. After contracting stomach cancer, Saotome died at a hospital in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan.