Born in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in June 1945. In 1972, Hara established Shisso Productions with Sachiko Kobayashi and made his directorial debut with the documentary film Goodbye CP. Since then, he has generated international acclaim with landmark documentaries such as Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (1974), The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987), and A Dedicated Life (1994). In 2005, he released his first fiction film, The Many Faces of Chika. The documentary Sennan Asbestos Disaster came out in 2017, receiving several awards at film festivals around the world, including the Best Documentary Award at the Busan International Film Festival. He is currently editing his latest film on Minamata, following in the footsteps of Japanese documentary master Noriaki Tsuchimoto.