“Okuribito” (Departures) has been named as this year’s best foreign language film at the 81st Academy Awards. Widely considered the second-favorite for the award, behind Israeli film “War With Bashir,” the movie continued on its strong performance at festivals around the world over the last few months. Joined on stage by stars Motoki Masahiro (43) Hirosue Ryoko (28), Hirosue Ryoko (28) and Yo Kimiko (52), director Takita Yoji (53) gave a brief acceptance speech in very broken English. The award meant that Japan was two for two on the night. “Tsumiki no Ie,” an animated short by Kato Kunio (31), took Japan’s first ever Oscar in that category and the the country’s first in six years. Okuribito is a moving and often humorous drama of human dignity and family bonds. Motoki plays an out-of-work cellist who leaves Tokyo to return to his hometown to become an undertaker, ritually cleansing and placing the deceased into coffins at funeral ceremonies.