His most prominent plays are The Attic (屋根裏 Yaneura, 2002), Come Out (カムアウト Kamu auto, 1989), Tokyo Trial (トーキョー裁判 Tōkyō saiban, 1988), and Epitaph for the Whales (くじらの墓標 Kujira no bohyō, 1993).
During his time at Keiō University, he was inspired and learned from Tetsu Yamazaki, a second wave playwright, to utilize theater as a method to confront contemporary issues in society.
Japanese arts and culture had also expanded to more modern forms of media such as television broadcasts, magazines, manga, and anime.
This period was characterized by a number of economic issues, an aging population, high unemployment rates, and lack of stable lifetime careers.
Drawing influence from Yamazaki and fellow playwright Hirata Oriza, he created his own theater company Phosphorescence Troupe (燐光群 Rinkōgun) in 1983.
[3] In this play, Sakate focuses on the social phenomenon in Japan known as hikikomori, where young adults withdraw from society and isolate themselves typically in their homes.
[2] For the company’s 30th anniversary, the Phosphorescence Troupe presented four of Sakate’s original plays: Honchos’ Meeting in Cowra (カウラの班長会議 Kaura no hanchō kaigi, 2013), Return Home (帰還 Kikan), The Attic (屋根裏 Yaneura, 2002), and his newest play, There Was A Cinema Here (ここには映画館があった Koko ni wa eigakan ga atta, 2013).
He also satirizes Japan’s legal system in response to the bombing of a Korean Airlines plane in Tokyo Trial (トーキョー裁判 Tōkyō saiban, 1988), and explores female sexuality in Come Out (カムアウト Kamu auto, 1989).
[4] In his newest work, There Was A Cinema Here (ここには映画館があった Koko ni wa eigakan ga atta, 2013), he presents criticism of the lack of nostalgia in society by reminiscing about the times in Japan where movie theaters were the center of entertainment and life.
This event took play in New York City at the Segal Theater and included other notable playwrights such as Hirata Oriza, Okada Toshiki, and Nen Ishihara.
The triple disaster in 2011, which consisted of an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown, took the lives of over 18,000 people and thousands missing, injured, or displaced from their homes.