Japan Academy Film Prize for Picture of the Year
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. | Year | English title | Japanese title | Director |
| 1 | 1977 | The Yellow Handkerchief | 幸福の黄色いハンカチ | Yoji Yamada |
| 2 | 1978 | The Incident | 事件 | Yoshitaro Nomura |
| 3 | 1979 | Vengeance Is Mine | 復讐するは我にあり | Shōhei Imamura |
| 4 | 1980 | Zigeunerweisen | ツィゴイネルワイゼン | Seijun Suzuki |
| 5 | 1981 | Station | 駅 STATION | Yasuo Furuhata |
| 6 | 1982 | Fall Guy | 蒲田行進曲 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 7 | 1983 | The Ballad of Narayama | 楢山節考 | Shōhei Imamura |
| 8 | 1984 | The Funeral | お葬式 | Juzo Itami |
| 9 | 1985 | Gray Sunset | 花いちもんめ | Shunya Ito |
| 10 | 1986 | House on Fire | 火宅の人 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 11 | 1987 | A Taxing Woman | マルサの女 | Juzo Itami |
| 12 | 1988 | The Silk Road | 敦煌 | Junya Sato |
| 13 | 1989 | Black Rain | 黒い雨 | Shōhei Imamura |
| 14 | 1990 | Childhood Days | 少年時代 | Masahiro Shinoda |
| 15 | 1991 | My Sons | 息子 | Yoji Yamada |
| 16 | 1992 | Sumo Do, Sumo Don't | シコふんじゃった。 | Masayuki Suo |
| 17 | 1993 | A Class to Remember | 学校 | Yoji Yamada |
| 18 | 1994 | Crest of Betrayal | 忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談 | Kinji Fukasaku |
| 19 | 1995 | A Last Note | 午後の遺言状 | Kaneto Shindo |
| 20 | 1996 | Shall We Dance? | Shall we ダンス? | Masayuki Suo |
| 21 | 1997 | Princess Mononoke | もののけ姫 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 22 | 1998 | Begging for Love | 愛を乞うひと | Hideyuki Hirayama |
| 23 | 1999 | Poppoya | 鉄道員 | Yasuo Furuhata |
| 24 | 2000 | After the Rain | 雨あがる | Takashi Koizumi |
| 25 | 2001 | Spirited Away | 千と千尋の神隠し | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 26 | 2002 | The Twilight Samurai | たそがれ清兵衛 | Yoji Yamada |
| 27 | 2003 | When the Last Sword Is Drawn | 壬生義士伝 | Yōjirō Takita |
| 28 | 2004 | Half a Confession | 半落ち | Kiyoshi Sasabe |
| 29 | 2005 | Always Sanchōme no Yūhi | ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日 | Takashi Yamazaki |
| 30 | 2006 | Hula Girls | フラガール | Sang-il Lee |
| 31 | 2007 | 東京タワー 〜オカンとボクと、時々、オトン〜 | Jōji Matsuoka | |
| 32 | 2008 | Departures | おくりびと | Yōjirō Takita |
| 33 | 2009 | The Unbroken | 沈まぬ太陽 | Setsuro Wakamatsu |
| 34 | 2010 | Confessions | 告白 | Tetsuya Nakashima |
| 35 | 2011 | Rebirth | 八日目の蝉 | Izuru Narushima |
| 36 | 2012 | The Kirishima Thing | 桐島、部活やめるってよ | Daihachi Yoshida |
| 37 | 2013 | The Great Passage | 舟を編む | Yuya Ishii |
| 38 | 2014 | The Eternal Zero | 永遠の0 | Takashi Yamazaki |
| 39 | 2015 | Our Little Sister | 海街diary | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 40 | 2016 | Shin Godzilla | シン・ゴジラ | Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi |
| 41 | 2017 | The Third Murder | 三度目の殺人 | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 42 | 2018 | Shoplifters | 万引き家族 | Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 43 | 2019 | The Journalist | 新聞記者 | Michihito Fujii |