| Japan Academy Film Prize for Picture of the Year | |
| Awarded For: | Best feature film of Japan |
| Presenter: | Japan Academy Film Prize Association |
| Country: |  Japan |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Website: | http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/ |
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 title | Japanese title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (1977) | The Yellow Handkerchief | Japanese: 幸福の黄色いハンカチ | Yoji Yamada |
| 2nd (1978) | The Incident | Japanese: 事件 | Yoshitaro Nomura |
| 3rd(1979) | Vengeance Is Mine | Japanese: 復讐するは我にあり | Shōhei Imamura |
| 4th(1980) | Zigeunerweisen | Japanese: ツィゴイネルワイゼン | Seijun Suzuki |
| 5th(1981) | Station | Japanese: 駅 STATION | Yasuo Furuhata |
| 6th(1982) | Fall Guy | Japanese: 蒲田行進曲 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 7th(1983) | The Ballad of Narayama | Japanese: 楢山節考 | Shōhei Imamura |
| 8th(1984) | The Funeral | Japanese: お葬式 | Juzo Itami |
| 9th(1985) | Gray Sunset | Japanese: 花いちもんめ | Shunya Ito |
| 10th(1986) | House on Fire | Japanese: 火宅の人 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 11st(1987) | A Taxing Woman | Japanese: マルサの女 | Juzo Itami |
| 12nd(1988) | The Silk Road | Japanese: 敦煌 | Junya Sato |
| 13rd(1989) | Black Rain | Japanese: 黒い雨 | Shōhei Imamura |
| 14th(1990) | Childhood Days | Japanese: 少年時代 | Masahiro Shinoda |
| 15th(1991) | My Sons | Japanese: 息子 | Yoji Yamada |
| 16th(1992) | Sumo Do, Sumo Don't | Japanese: シコふんじゃった。 | Masayuki Suo |
| 17th(1993) | A Class to Remember | Japanese: 学校 | Yoji Yamada |
| 18th(1994) | Crest of Betrayal | Japanese: 忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 19th(1995) | A Last Note | Japanese: 午後の遺言状 | Kaneto Shindo |
| 20th(1996) | Shall We Dance? | Japanese: Shall we ダンス? | Masayuki Suo |
| 21st(1997) | Princess Mononoke | Japanese: もののけ姫 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 22nd(1998) | Begging for Love | Japanese: 愛を乞うひと | Hideyuki Hirayama |
| 23rd(1999) | Poppoya | Japanese: 鉄道員 | Yasuo Furuhata |
| 24th (2000) | After the Rain | Japanese: 雨あがる | Takashi Koizumi |
| 25th (2001) | Spirited Away | Japanese: 千と千尋の神隠し | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 26th (2002) | The Twilight Samurai | Japanese: たそがれ清兵衛 | Yoji Yamada |
| 27th (2003) | When the Last Sword Is Drawn | Japanese: 壬生義士伝 | Yōjirō Takita |
| 28th (2004) | Half a Confession | Japanese: 半落ち | Kiyoshi Sasabe |
| 29th (2005) | Always Sanchōme no Yūhi | Japanese: ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日 | Takashi Yamazaki |
| 30th (2007) | Hula Girls | Japanese: フラガール | Sang-il Lee |
| 31st (2007) | Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad | Japanese: 東京タワー 〜オカンとボクと、時々、オトン〜 | Jōji Matsuoka |
| 32nd (2008) | Departures | Japanese: おくりびと | Yōjirō Takita |
| 33rd (2009) | The Unbroken | Japanese: 沈まぬ太陽 | Setsuro Wakamatsu |
| 34th (2010) | Confessions | Japanese: 告白 | Tetsuya Nakashima |
| 35th (2011) | Rebirth | Japanese: 八日目の蝉 | Izuru Narushima |
| 36th (2012) | The Kirishima Thing | Japanese: 桐島、部活やめるってよ | Daihachi Yoshida |
| 37th (2013) | The Great Passage | Japanese: 舟を編む | Yuya Ishii |
| 38th (2014) | The Eternal Zero | Japanese: 永遠の0 | Takashi Yamazaki |
| 39th (2015) | Our Little Sister | Japanese: 海街diary | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 40th (2016) | Shin Godzilla | Japanese: シン・ゴジラ | Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi |
| 41st (2017) | The Third Murder | Japanese: 三度目の殺人 | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 42nd (2018) | Shoplifters | Japanese: 万引き家族 | |
| 43rd (2019) | The Journalist | Japanese: 新聞記者 | Michihito Fujii |
| 44th (2020) | Midnight Swan | Japanese: ミッドナイトスワン | Eiji Uchida |
| 45th (2021) | Drive My Car | Japanese: ドライブ・マイ・カー | Ryusuke Hamaguchi |
| 46th (2022) | A Man | Japanese: ある男 | Kei Ishikawa |
| 47th (2023) | Godzilla Minus One | Japanese: ゴジラ-1.0 | Takashi Yamazaki |