The winners of the 34th Japanese Academy Awards have just been announced on December 17th at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The awards for excellence and best newcomers were announced in 15 categories.

Best film prizes were awarded to "Akunin", "Ot�to", "Kokuhaku", "Kok� no mesu", and "13-nin no shikaku". �The most awards were won by Akunin, which achieved 15 wins in 13 different categories.

One of the �prizes for newcomers was given to Mana Ashida (6), who acted in the Japanese remake of the Hollywood movie "Ghost", which marked the youngest winner in the history of these awards.�Momoka �no (9), who appeared in "Kinako ~Minarai keisatsuken no monogatari~", was also honored in the same category, among others.



All movies that had their premiere between 12/5/2009 and 11/27/2010 were eligible for an award, which limited the selection to 198 Japanese (9 less than the year before) and 207 foreign films (32 less than the year before).

The honored male actors in a leading role were Tsurube Sh�fukutei for his role in "Ot�to", Shin'ichi Tsutsumi for "Kok� no mesu", Satoshi Tsumabuki for "Akunin", Etsushi Toyokawa for "Hisshiken Torisashi", and K�ji Yakusho for "13-nin no shikaku".

The honored actresses in a leading role were Shinobu Terajima for her role in "Caterpillar", Eri Fukatsu for "Akunin", Takako Matsu for "Kokuhaku", Hiroko Yakushimaru for "Kondo wa aisaika", and Sayuri Yoshinaga for "Ot�to".

The winners of the grand prizes in their respective categories will be announced on February 2nd of next year. The presenters will be Tsutomu Sekine, who filled the same spot last year, and Takako Matsu, who won the grand prize for a female actress in a leading role last year for her performance in "Villon no tsuma ~Sakuranbo to tanpopo~".

Sekine commented on the chance to work with Takako, "She is gorgeous and delightful, I have been a fan of her father K�shir� Matsumoto and a big fan of hers since her debut". Matsu said with a smile on her face: "This job bears a heavy burden on my shoulders, but I would be happy if I could help to make this event even a bit more enjoyable. Mr. Sekine has an excellent sense for humor and I will try not make any mistakes so that the award-winners can fully enjoy the evening."

Check out the full list of winners below!

Best Films

Akunin (Director: Lee Sang-il)
Ot�to (Director: Y�ji Yamada)
Kokuhaku (Director: Tetsuya Nakashima)
Kok� no mesu (Director: Izuru Narushima)
13-nin no shikaku (Director: Takashi Miike)

Best Animated Films

Colorful
Karigurashi no Arrietty
Doraemon - Nobita no Ningyodaikaisen
Meitantei Conan - Tenk� no Lost Ship
One Piece - Strong World

Best Directors

Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Izuru Narushima (Kok� no mesu)
Takashi Miike (13-nin no shikaku)
Y�ji Yamada (Ot�to)
Lee Sang-il (Akunin)

Best Screenplays

Masato Kat� (Kok� no mesu)
Daisuke Tengan (13-nin no shikaku)
Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Y�ji Yamada and Emiko Hiramatsu (Ot�to)
Sh�ichi Yoshida and Lee Sang-il (Akunin)

Best Actors In A Leading Role

Tsurube Sh�fukutei (Ot�to)
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi (Kok� no mesu)
Satoshi Tsumabuki (Akunin)
Etsushi Toyokawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)
K�ji Yakusho (13-nin no shikaku)

Best Actresses In A Leading Role

Shinobu Terajima (Caterpillar)
Eri Fukatsu (Akunin)
Takako Matsu (Kokuhaku)
Hiroko Yakushimaru (Kondo wa aisaika)
Sayuri Yoshinaga (Ot�to)

Best Actors In A Supporting Role

Renji Ishibashi (Kondo wa aisaika)
Akira Emoto (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Kokuhaku)
K�ji Kikkawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)

Best Actresses In A Supporting Role

Y� Aoi (Ot�to)
Kirin Kiki (Akunin)
Yoshino Kimura (Kokuhaku)
Yui Natsukawa (Kok� no mesu)
Hikari Mitsushima (Akunin)

Best Foreign Films

Avatar (2oth Century Fox)
Inception (Warner Bros.)
Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney)
Hurt Locker (Broadmedia Corporation)

Newcomer Awards

Mana Ashida (Ghost - M� ichido dakishimetai)
Momoka �no (Kinako ~Minarai keisatsuken no monogatari~)
Riisa Naka (Zebraman - Zebracity no gyakush� and Toki wo kakeru sh�jo)
Kento Nagayama (Softboy)
Sh�hei Miura (THE LAST MESSAGE Umizaru)
Takahiro Miura (RAILWAYS 49-sai de densha no untenshi ni natta otoko no monogatari)

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Source:�Oricon