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The 41st Japan Academy Prize was presented at Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa on 2nd March 2018. Hirokazu Koreeda’s latest, his first foray into the murder mystery, swept the board with six awards including the big ticket items of best picture, director, supporting actor and supporting actress. Despite numerous nominations popular hit Let Me Eat Your Pancreas went away with only the previously announced newcomer awards while period epic Sekigahara had some success in technical categories.
Winners and nominees in full:
Picture of the Year
- Let Me Eat Your Pancreas (Sho Tsukikawa)
- The Third Murder (Hirokazu Koreeda)
- Sekigahara (Masato Harada)
- Miracles of the Namiya General Store (Ryuichi Hiroki)
- Flower and Sword (Tetsuo Shinohara)
Animation of the Year
- Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (Akiyuki Shinbo)
- Napping Princess (Ancien and the Magic Tablet) (Kenji Kamiyama)
- Mary and the Witch’s Flower (Hiromasa Yonebayashi)
- Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter (Kobun Shizuno)
- The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (Masaaki Yuasa)
Director of the Year
- Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Before We Vanish)
- Hirokazu Koreeda (The Third Murder)
- Tetsuo Shinohara (Flower and Sword)
- Masato Harada (Sekigahara)
- Ryuichi Hiroki (Miracles of the Namiya General Store)
Best Screenplay
- Hirokazu Koreeda (The Third Murder)
- Hiroshi Saito (Miracles of the Namiya General Store)
- Yoshiko Morishita (Flower and Sword)
- Yoji Yamada & Emiko Hiramatsu (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Tomoko Yoshida (Let Me Eat Your Pancreas)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
- Yo Oizumi (The Detective is in the Bar 3)
- Junichi Okada (Sekigahara)
- Takeru Satoh (The 8-year Engagement)
- Masaki Suda (Wilderness)
- Tatsuya Fujiwara (Memoirs of a Murderer)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
- Yu Aoi (Birds Without Names)
- Yui Aragaki (Mix)
- Tao Tsuchiya (The 8-Year Engagement)
- Masami Nagasawa (Before We Vanish)
- Yuriko Yoshitaka (Yurigokoro)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
- Toshiyuki Nishida (Miracles of the Namiya General Store)
- Masahiko Nishimura (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Ryuhei Matsuda (The Detective is in the Bar 3)
- Nijiro Murakami (Mukoku)
- Koji Yakusho (The Third Murder)
- Koji Yakusho (Sekigahara)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
- Machiko Ono (Miracles of the Namiya General Store)
- Keiko Kitagawa (The Detective is in the Bar 3)
- Yui Natsukawa (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Suzu Hirose (The Third Murder)
- Hiroko Yakushimaru (The 8-Year Engagement)
Outstanding Achievement in Music
- Keiichi Suzuki (Outrage Coda)
- Harumi Fuuki (Sekigahara)
- Takatsugu Muramatsu (The 8-Year Engagement)
- Ludovico Einaudi (The Third Murder)
- JIN (Kiseki: Anohi no sobito)
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- Tokusho Kikumura (Flower and Sword)
- Kozo Shibasaki (Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura)
- Takahide Shibanushi (Sekigahara)
- Mikiya Takimoto (The Third Murder)
- Masashi Chikamori (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction
- Tatsuya Osada (Flower and Sword)
- Nariyuki Ueda (Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura)
- Takaaki Miyanishi (Sekigahara)
- Norikiyo Fujii (The Third Murder)
- Koichi Watanabe (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Tomoko Kurata (Flower and Sword)
- Tomoko Kurata & Hisayuki Kobayashi (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Anri Johjo (Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura)
- Tetsuo Harada (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Tomoyuki Maruo & Rihito Nakagawa (Miracles of the Namiya General Store)
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording
- Satoshi Ozaki (Flower and Sword)
- Kazumi Kishida (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Yoshifumi Kureishi (Outrage Coda)
- Kazuhiko Toyama (The Third Murder)
- Masahito Yano (Sekigahara)
Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing
- Hirohide Abe (Flower and Sword)
- Iwao Ishii (What a Wonderful Family! 2)
- Takeshi Kitano & Yoshinori Ohta (Outrage Coda)
- Hirokazu Koreeda (The Third Murder)
- Eugene Harada (Sekigahara)
Newcomer of the Year
(awarded to all four nominees equally – announced along with nominations)
- Ayami Nakajo (Let’s Go, Jets!)
- Minami Hamabe (Let Me Eat Your Pancreas)
- Takumi Kitamura (Let Me Eat Your Pancreas)
- Ryoma Takeuchi (Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High)
Special Award of Honour from the Association
(Lifetime achievement awards – technical fields)
- Etsuko Egawa (makeup & prosthetics)
- Katsutoshi Osawa (art direction)
- Midori Onuma (hair & makeup)
- Hiroshi Koto (costumes)
- Takefumi Yoshikawa (casting)
Special Award of Honour from the Chairman
(Lifetime achievement awards celebrating contribution to the film industry)
- Kyoko Kagawa (actress)
- Takashi Kawamata (cinematographer)
- Masahiro Shinoda (director)
- Kenichi Benitani (sound engineer)
- Toshio Masuda (director)
- Fujiko Yamamoto (actress)
Special Award from the Chairman
(Lifetime achievement award presented to members of the film industry who passed away during 2017)
- Iwao Otani (audio engineer)
- Hiroki Matsukata (actor)
- Tsunehiko Watase (actor)
- Akira Hayasaka (screenwriter)
In Memoriam
Seijun Suzuki (director) – As a previous recipient of the Special Award of Honour, Suzuki is ineligible for a second lifetime achievement award but his passing is marked with this special mention.
Popularity Awards
(nominated by an All Night Nippon audience poll)
Movie: Let Me Eat Your Pancreas
Actor: Masaki Suda (Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High)
