Y. Matsuda; ‘Black Rain’ Actor

Yusaku Matsuda, who portrayed a young killer opposite Michael Douglas in the current popular film “Black Rain,” has died of bladder cancer in Tokyo, Reuters news agency reported.

The news service quoted Japanese media sources as saying Matsuda, who portrays a renegade becoming a powerful force in the underworld, died Monday night. He was 40.

The tall, chain-smoking Matsuda, who played Douglas’ adversary in the picture about a macho cop from New York City who is trying to bring back an extradited murderer from Japan, was virtually unknown outside Japan until the release of the detective thriller, which was set and photographed in the western Japanese city of Osaka.