The Japan Academy Film Prize for Picture of the Year is a film award given to the best film at the annual Japan Academy Film Prize.
Nr.English titleJapanese titleDirector(s)1st (1978)The Yellow HandkerchiefYoji Yamada2nd (1979)The IncidentYoshitarō Nomura3rd (1980)Vengeance Is MineShōhei Imamura4th (1981)ZigeunerweisenSeijun Suzuki5th (1982)StationYasuo Furuhata6th (1983)Fall GuyKinji Fukasaku7th (1984)The Ballad of NarayamaShōhei Imamura8th (1985)The FuneralJuzo Itami9th (1986)Gray SunsetShunya Itō10th (1987)House on FireKinji Fukasaku11th (1988)A Taxing WomanJuzo Itami12th (1989)The Silk RoadJunya Sato13th (1990)Black RainShōhei Imamura14th (1991)Childhood DaysMasahiro Shinoda15th (1992)My SonsYoji Yamada16th (1993)Sumo Do, Sumo Don'tMasayuki Suo17th (1994)A Class to RememberYoji Yamada18th (1995)Crest of BetrayalKinji Fukasaku19th (1996)A Last NoteKaneto Shindo20th (1997)Shall We Dance?Masayuki Suo21st (1998)Princess MononokeHayao Miyazaki22nd (1999)Begging for LoveHideyuki Hirayama23rd (2000)PoppoyaYasuo Furuhata24th (2001)After the RainTakashi Koizumi25th (2002)Spirited AwayHayao Miyazaki26th (2003)The Twilight SamuraiYoji Yamada27th (2004)When the Last Sword Is DrawnYōjirō Takita28th (2005)Half a ConfessionKiyoshi Sasabe29th (2006)Always Sanchōme no YūhiTakashi Yamazaki30th (2007)Hula GirlsSang-il Lee31st (2008)Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes DadJoji Matsuoka32nd (2009)DeparturesYōjirō Takita33rd (2010)The UnbrokenSetsuro Wakamatsu34th (2011)ConfessionsTetsuya Nakashima35th (2012)RebirthIzuru Narushima36th (2013)The Kirishima ThingDaihachi Yoshida37th (2014)The Great PassageYuya Ishii38th (2015)The Eternal ZeroTakashi Yamazaki39th (2016)Our Little SisterHirokazu Kore-eda40th (2017)Shin GodzillaHideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi41st (2018)The Third MurderHirokazu Kore-eda42nd (2019)Shoplifters43rd (2020)The JournalistMichihito Fujii44th (2021)Midnight SwanEiji Uchida45th (2022)Drive My CarRyusuke Hamaguchi46th (2023)A ManKei Ishikawa47th (2024)Godzilla Minus OneTakashi Yamazaki48th (2025)A Samurai in TimeJun'ichi Yasuda49th (2026)KokuhoSang-il Lee