Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award
The Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award is given annually by the Directors Guild of Japan to a new director of a film released that year who is considered the most "suitable" for the award. The winner is selected by a committee formed of DGJ members. All formats—feature film, documentary, television, video, etc.—are eligible for consideration. In some years when there was no apparent winner, the Guild only issued a "citation" or did not give out the award. Multiple awards have been given in other years. With a long history, many of Japan's major postwar directors have received the award, including Nagisa Ōshima, Susumu Hani, Yoshimitsu Morita, Masayuki Suo, Takeshi Kitano, and Shunji Iwai.
Recipients
Recipients of the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award| Year | Winner | Film | Notes |
| 1960 | Cruel Story of Youth | ||
| 1961 | Bad Boys | ||
| 1962 | Foundry Town | ||
| 1963 | No award | ||
| 1964 | No award | ||
| 1965 | Nihon Rettō | ||
| 1966 | Yakuza Gurentai | ||
| 1967 | ' | ||
| 1968 | No award | ||
| 1969 | Oretachi no Kōya | Citation only | |
| 1970 | Summer in Narita | ||
| 1971 | Yasashii Nipponjin | ||
| 1972 | ' | Citation only | |
| 1973 | Citation only | ||
| 1974 | No award | ||
| 1975 | No award | ||
| 1976 | Futatsu no Hāmonika | Citation only | |
| 1977 | Hoshizora no Marionetto | ||
| 1978 | No award | ||
| 1979 | Keiko | ||
| 1980 | Muddy River | Citation only | |
| 1981 | Gaki Teikoku | Citation only | |
| 1982 | No award | ||
| 1983 | The Family Game | ||
| 1984 | No award | ||
| 1985 | Early Spring Story | ||
| 1986 | The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On | ||
| 1987 | Robinson's Garden | ||
| 1988 | Yun's Town | ||
| 1989 | Dotsuitarunen | Two winners | |
| 1989 | Untamagiru | Two winners | |
| 1990 | Boiling Point | Two winners; citation only | |
| 1990 | Shimaguni Konjō | Two winners; citation only | |
| 1991 | Sumo Do, Sumo Don't | ||
| 1992 | The Games Teachers Play | Multiple winners | |
| 1992 | Pineapple Tours | Multiple winners | |
| 1992 | Pineapple Tours | Multiple winners | |
| 1992 | Pineapple Tours | Multiple winners | |
| 1993 | Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? | Two winners | |
| 1993 | My Wife Is Filipina | Two winners | |
| 1994 | This Window Is Yours | ||
| 1995 | Berlin | ||
| 1996 | Two People Talking | ||
| 1997 | Twentieth Century Nostalgia | ||
| 1998 | Pornostar | ||
| 1999 | Moonlight Whispers Don't Look Back | ||
| 2000 | Boy's Choir | ||
| 2001 | Scoutman aka Pain | ||
| 2002 | Through the Night | ||
| 2003 | Chirusoku no Natsu | ||
| 2004 | Dogs & Cats | ||
| 2005 | The Soup, One Morning | ||
| 2006 | Kazoku no Hiketsu | ||
| 2007 | German + Rain | ||
| 2008 | One Million Yen Girl | ||
| 2009 | 8000 Miles | ||
| 2010 | Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni | ||
| 2011 | Death of a Japanese Salesman | ||
| 2012 | Doko ni mo ikenai | ||
| 2013 | Hakoiri musuko no koi | ||
| 2014 | About the Pink Sky | ||
| 2015 | Pieta in the Toilet | ||
| 2016 | Ken and Kazu | ||
| 2017 | The Blooming |