Sakamoto's song "Sukiyaki" became the first Japanese song in the United States to sell a million copies and reached No.1 on a popular chart on June 15, 1963. Its original (Japanese) title is "上を向いて歩こう" which means "I look up as I walk". He died on August 12, 1985 by an airplane accident during a flight on Japan Airlines Flight 123) aboard from Kanagawa in Japan.