Japan has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since the inception of the award in 1951. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. Before the award was created, the Board of Governors of the academy voted on a film every year that was considered the best foreign language film released in the United States, and there were no submissions.

As of 2026, Japan has been nominated eighteen times, winning twice for Departures (2008) and Drive My Car (2021). Alongside its three honorary wins, the total of Japanese awarded films is five.

Among all the countries that have submitted films for the award, Japan ranks fourth in terms of total nominees, ahead of Sweden (fourteen nominees) and the former Soviet Union (nine nominees).

Submissions The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film was not created until 1956; however, between 1947 and 1955, the academy presented Honorary Awards to the best foreign language films released in the United States. These awards were not competitive, as there were no nominees but simply a winner every year that was voted on by the Board of Governors of the academy. Three Japanese films were recipients of Honorary Awards during this period. For the 1956 Academy Awards, a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since. Every year, each country is invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to submit its best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The International Feature Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award.

The only Japanese directors to have multiple films be nominated for the award are Akira Kurosawa and Noboru Nakamura. Kurosawa received an Honorary Award prior to the inception of the formal award for Rashomon (1950) and the actual Academy Award for Dersu Uzala (1975), representing the Soviet Union, alongside four other films submitted, with two of them accepted as nominees. Notably, Kurosawa's Ran (1985) was deliberately not submitted by the country due to the poor perception he had among Japanese filmmakers at the time. Nakamura had two films nominated, Twin Sisters of Kyoto (1963) and Portrait of Chieko (1967).

German filmmaker Wim Wenders became the first non-Japanese filmmaker to have a film selected, for the Tokyo-set Perfect Days (2023), a homage to Yasujirō Ozu. The film was nominated, and marked Japan's 18th nomination.

's Confessions (2010) and Lee Sang-il's Kokuho (2025) advanced to the December shortlists, but were not nominated.

Most of the films submitted are primary in Japanese, with the exception of All of a Sudden (2026), which is mainly in French. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Japan for review by the academy for the award since its inception.

Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director Result 1951(24th) Rashomon 羅生門 1954(27th) Gate of Hell 地獄門 1955(28th) Samurai, The Legend of Musashi 宮本武蔵 1956(29th) Harp of Burma ビルマの竪琴 1957(30th) Aruse あらくれ 1958(31st) The Ballad of Narayama 楢山節考 1959(32nd) Fires on the Plain 野火 1960(33rd) Late Autumn 秋日和 1961(34th) Immortal Love 永遠の人 1962(35th) Being Two Isn't Easy 私は二歳 1963(36th) Twin Sisters of Kyoto 古都 1964(37th) Woman in the Dunes 砂の女 1965(38th) Kwaidan 怪談 1966(39th) Lake of Tears 湖の琴 1967(40th) Portrait of Chieko 智恵子抄 1968(41st) The Sands of Kurobe 黒部の太陽 1969(42nd) Kuragejima, Legends From a Southern Island 神々の深き欲望 1970(43rd) The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan 無頼漢 1971(44th) Dodes'ka-den どですかでん 1972(45th) Under the Flag of the Rising Sun 軍旗はためく下に 1973(46th) Coup d'Etat 戒厳令 1974(47th) The Fossil 化石 1975(48th) Sandakan No. 8 サンダカン八番娼館 望郷 1977(50th) Mt. Hakkoda 八甲田山 1978(51st) Empire of Passion 愛の亡霊 1979(52nd) Gassan 月山 1980(53rd) Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) 影武者 1981(54th) Muddy River 泥の河 1982(55th) Onimasa 鬼龍院花子の生涯 1983(56th) Antarctica 南極物語 1984(57th) MacArthur's Children 瀬戸内少年野球団 1985(58th) Gray Sunset 花いちもんめ 1986(59th) Final Take キネマの天地 1987(60th) Zegen 女衒 1988(61st) Hope and Pain ダウンタウン・ヒーローズ 1989(62nd) Rikyu 利休 1990(63rd) The Sting of Death 死の棘 1991(64th) Rhapsody in August 八月の狂詩曲 1992(65th) The Oil-Hell Murder 女殺油地獄 1993(66th) Madadayo まあだだよ 1994(67th) Pom Poko 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ 1995(68th) Deep River 深い河 1996(69th) Gakko II 学校II 1997(70th) Princess Mononoke もののけ姫 1998(71st) Begging for Love 愛を乞う人 1999(72nd) Poppoya 鉄道員 2000(73rd) After the Rain 雨あがる 2001(74th) Go GO 2002(75th) Out OUT 2003(76th) The Twilight Samurai たそがれ清兵衛 2004(77th) Nobody Knows 誰も知らない 2005:(78th) Blood and Bones 血と骨 2006(79th) Hula Girls フラガール 2007(80th) I Just Didn't Do It それでもボクはやってない 2008(81st) Departures おくりびと 2009(82nd) Nobody to Watch Over Me 誰も守ってくれない 2010(83rd) Confessions告白 2011(84th) Postcard 一枚のハガキ 2012(85th) Our Homeland かぞくのくに 2013(86th) The Great Passage 舟を編む Yuya Ishii 2014(87th) The Light Shines Only There そこのみにて光輝く Mipo O 2015(88th) 100 Yen Love 百円の恋 Masaharu Take 2016(89th) Nagasaki: Memories of My Son 母と暮せば Yoji Yamada 2017(90th) Her Love Boils Bathwater 湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 Ryōta Nakano 2018(91st) Shoplifters 万引き家族 Hirokazu Kore-eda 2019(92nd) Weathering with You 天気の子 Makoto Shinkai 2020(93rd) True Mothers 朝が来る Naomi Kawase 2021(94th) Drive My Car ドライブ・マイ・カー Ryusuke Hamaguchi 2022(95th) Plan 75 Chie Hayakawa 2023(96th) Perfect Days Wim Wenders 2024(97th) Cloud クラウド Kiyoshi Kurosawa 2025(98th) Kokuho 国宝 Lee Sang-il 2026(99th) All of a Sudden Soudain / 急に具合が悪くなる Ryusuke Hamaguchi

See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films Cinema of Japan

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External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page