Lee Sang il’s “Kokuho” emerged as the dominant force at the 49th Japan Academy Awards, taking the top prize along with a raft of major honors and confirming its status as the standout title of the Japanese awards season. The lavish kabuki epic won Best Picture and Best Director for Lee Sang il, while Ryo Yoshizawa received Best Actor for his performance in the film. “Kokuho” also swept a number of craft categories, including Screenplay for Satoko Okudera, Music for Marihiko Hara, Cinematography for Sofian El Fani, Lighting for Yuki Nakamura, Sound Recording for Mitsugu Shiratori, Editing for Tsuyoshi Imai, and Art Direction for Yohei Taneda and Nao Shimoyama. The production team of the film was also honored with the 49th Special Award, underlining just how comprehensively the title defined this year’s ceremony.
The 49th edition of the Japan Academy Awards honored films released in Japan between January 1 and December 31, 2025, with voting conducted by 4,152 members of the Nippon Academy Sho Association. The award ceremony took place on March 13 at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo, following the announcement of the Excellence Awards and Newcomer of the Year recipients on January 19. Alongside the triumph of “Kokuho,” Chieko Baisho won Best Actress for “Tokyo Taxi,” Jiro Sato took Best Supporting Actor for “Suzuki=Bakudan,” and Misato Morita won Best Supporting Actress for “Night Flower,” capping off a strong showing for the latter, which also brought recognition to director Eiji Uchida and Morita in the newcomer race.
Among the other major titles in contention, the Excellence Award lineup for Best Picture included “Hero’s Island,” “Suzuki=Bakudan,” “1st Kiss,” and “Tokyo Taxi,” reflecting a year of notable range in Japanese cinema, from literary adaptation and crime drama to romance and socially grounded ensemble storytelling. “Tokyo Taxi” continued its solid awards-season presence with Baisho’s Best Actress win and additional recognition in multiple technical fields, while “Suzuki=Bakudan” secured acting and newcomer honors. Hokuto Matsumura had a particularly notable year, receiving Excellence Awards in both the lead actor category for “5 Centimeters per Second” and the supporting actor category for “1st Kiss,” while also winning the Popularity Award for actor. The Popularity Award for film went to “First Kiss.”
In animation, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” won Best Animated Feature, once again demonstrating the continuing strength of franchise anime in the domestic industry. The film’s ufotable digital imaging department also received a Creative Contribution Award. Other nominees in the animated feature race included “Chainsaw Man Reze Arc,” “100 Meters,” “Peleliu Guernica of Paradise,” and “Detective Conan One eyed Flashback.” In the foreign film category, Edward Berger’s “Conclave” won Best Foreign Film, prevailing over a lineup that included “Twilight of the Warriors Walled In,” “Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning,” “One Battle After Another,” and “F1.”
The Newcomer of the Year award went to Yamato Kochi for “Exit 8,” Noa Shiroyama for “5 Centimeters per Second,” Runa Nakashima for “Tokyo Taxi,” Ryuta Bando for “Suzuki=Bakudan,” Takaya Matsutani for “One Last Throw,” Ai Mikami for “Kokuho,” and Misato Morita for “Night Flower.” Morita’s double recognition as both Best Supporting Actress winner and newcomer further marked her as one of the ceremony’s most significant breakout names. Elsewhere, “Kokuho” added further distinction through the Best Theme Song award for “Luminance,” performed by Marihiko Hara feat. Satoru Iguchi, while the hair and makeup team and choreographers Hirokazu Taniguchi and Tokuyo Azuma were also recognized with Creative Contribution Awards.
The ceremony also paid tribute to veterans and late figures of the Japanese industry. The Association Special Awards went to costume designers Kumiko Ogawa and Kazuko Kurosawa, producer Jiro Shindo, and set construction specialist Tadamitsu Nishida. Chairman’s Awards for Distinguished Service were presented to Mayumi Ogawa, Yoshiko Sakuma, Gisaburo Sugii, Yozo Tanaka, and Seiji Mouri. Chairman’s Special Awards honored Ayumi Ishida, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masato Harada, and Nobuyoshi Otani, while a special memorial tribute was dedicated to Shoji Ueda, Masahiro Shinoda, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, and Kazuo Ikehiro.
This year’s Japan Academy Awards painted a picture of an industry balancing prestige adult drama, commercial spectacle, literary adaptation, and mainstream animation, but in the end the night belonged decisively to “Kokuho.” With its commanding performance across the board, Lee Sang-il’s period epic did not simply win the top prize. It established itself as the defining Japanese film of the year in the eyes of the country’s film industry.
Winners of the 49th Japan Academy Awards
Best Picture
“Kokuho”
Best Director
Lee Sang il, “Kokuho”
Best Actor
Ryo Yoshizawa, “Kokuho”
Best Actress
Chieko Baisho, “Tokyo Taxi”
Best Supporting Actor
Jiro Sato, “Suzuki=Bakudan”
Best Supporting Actress
Misato Morita, “Night Flower”
Best Screenplay
Satoko Okudera, “Kokuho”
Best Animated Feature
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle”
Best Foreign Film
“Conclave”
Technical Awards
Best Cinematography
Sofian El Fani, “Kokuho”
Best Lighting
Yuki Nakamura, “Kokuho”
Best Art Direction
Yohei Taneda, Nao Shimoyama, “Kokuho”
Best Sound Recording
Mitsugu Shiratori, “Kokuho”
Best Editing
Tsuyoshi Imai, “Kokuho”
Best Music
Marihiko Hara, “Kokuho”
Newcomer of the Year
Yamato Kochi, “Exit 8”
Noa Shiroyama, “5 Centimeters per Second”
Runa Nakashima, “Tokyo Taxi”
Ryuta Bando, “Suzuki=Bakudan”
Takaya Matsutani, “One Last Throw”
Ai Mikami, “Kokuho”
Misato Morita, “Night Flower”
Special Awards
Association Special Award
Kumiko Ogawa
Kazuko Kurosawa
Jiro Shindo
Tadamitsu Nishida
Chairman’s Award for Distinguished Service
Mayumi Ogawa
Yoshiko Sakuma
Gisaburo Sugii
Yozo Tanaka
Seiji Mouri
Chairman’s Special Award
Ayumi Ishida
Tatsuya Nakadai
Masato Harada
Nobuyoshi Otani
Special Memorial Tribute
Shoji Ueda
Masahiro Shinoda
Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Kazuo Ikehiro
Additional Awards
Popularity Award (Film)
“First Kiss”
Popularity Award (Actor)
Hokuto Matsumura
Best Theme Song
“Luminance,” Marihiko Hara feat. Satoru Iguchi, “Kokuho”
Creative Contribution Award
ufotable digital imaging department, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle”
Hair and makeup team, “Kokuho”
Choreography by Hirokazu Taniguchi and Tokuyo Azuma, “Kokuho”
49th Special Award
“Kokuho” production team
