is a Japanese film director. He is perhaps best known for his two Japan Academy Prize-winning films, 1992's "Sumo Do, Sumo Don't" and 1996's "Shall We Dance?". According to Suo: :The most important thing for me in movie making is to love the characters of the movie, so even though you only have a few seconds with a character, that person has to have his own life. Therefore, I want to respect it, I want to make movies where each character has his own individuality.

You ("Yū", born August 29, 1964 as 江原由希子 "Ehara Yukiko") is a Japanese model, television personality, singer and actress. She began her career as a singer, releasing her first single "chotto dake" ("just a little") in 1985. She next formed the Japanese Pop Group Fairchild in 1988, with Seiji Toda and Hirokazu Kawaguchi, serving as vocalist and songwriter.

is a Japanese actor. His breakthrough film was "Waterboys" for which he was nominated for the 'Best Actor' award at the Japanese Academy Awards, and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize. He is also the bassist and lead singer of the Japanese band Basket Lite.

is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He won the Best Director and Best Screenplay prizes at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2006 for "Always Sanchōme no Yūhi".

is a Japanese actor. He has been nominated for six Japanese Academy Awards, winning the Popularity Award in 1996 for "Love Letter", and Newcomer of the Year in 1993 for "Kira kira hikaru".

is a Japanese actor. He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentaro Mikuni.

is a Japanese actor. His father, also a movie actor, passed away when he was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Year of Japan Academy Awards in 1981. He won the Japan Academy Best Supporting Actor award in 1994 (for 47 Ronin) and Best Actor award in 2003 (for When the Last Sword is Drawn). In 2003 he played an Japanese delegate to a Chinese emperor of the Tang dynasty in Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Yokohama. One of his most notable roles was Hideyoshi in the 1999 NHK Taiga drama of the same name. A veteran of almost a hundred films, he has been nominated for ten Japanese Academy Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor awards for "Shiko funjatta" ("Sumo Do, Sumo Don't"), "East Meets West", and "Shall we Dansu?". __NOTOC_

Nobuko Miyamoto is a Japanese actress from Otaru, Hokkaidō. She was married to director Juzo Itami from 1969 until his apparent suicide in 1997, and regularly starred in his films. She has been nominated for eight Best Actress Japanese Academy Awards, winning in 1988 for her role in "A Taxing Woman".

Yoichi Sai (崔洋一 Japanese: "Sai Yōichi", Korean: Choi Yang-il (Hangul: 최양일, Hanja: 崔洋一, Revised Romanization: "Choe Yang-il", McCune-Reischauer: "Ch'oe Yang-il"), born 6 July 1949 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan) is an ethnic-Korean Japanese film director. His 2004 film "Chi to hone" won four Japanese Academy Awards, including two for Sai himself, for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Fumihiko Sori is a Japanese film director and film producer. He received a nomination for the 'Best Director' prize at the Japanese Academy Awards for his directing debut, "Ping Pong".

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She is from Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She won the ‘Best Newcomer’ prize at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2005 for her role in "Swing Girls".

Sang-il Lee (born 6 January, 1974) is a Korean-Japanese film director and screenwriter. His first film "Chong" was a short film about the lives of third generation Koreans living in Japan. He won the Best Director and Best Screenplay prizes at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards for "Hula Girls".

is a Japanese actor. A veteran of over 80 films, he has twice been nominated for the Best Actor Japanese Academy Award.

Tsutomu Yamazaki (born December 2, 1936 in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actor. He has been nominated for seven Japanese Academy Awards, winning Best Actor awards for the Juzo Itami comedies "The Funeral" and "A Taxing Woman", and the Best Supporting Actor award for "Go"

Masatoshi Nagase (b. July 15, 1966 in Miyazaki, Japan) is a Japanese actor. He is most known in the West for his roles in Friðrik Þór Friðriksson's "Cold Fever" and Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train", in Japan for his role as TV's Mike Hama (i.e., Mike Hammer). He has won two Japanese Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actor and Best Newcomer in 1992 for "Musuco", and been nominated a further three times.

Yoshimitsu Morita is a Japanese film director. Self-taught, he made his debut in 1981. In 1983 he won acclaim for his movie "Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game)", which was voted the best film of the year by Japanese critics. This black comedy dealt with then-recent changes in the structure of Japanese home life. He has been nominated for eight Japanese Academy Awards, winning the 2004 Best Director award for "Ashura no Gotoku".

Rentaro Mikuni is a Japanese actor from Gunma Prefecture. He has appeared in over 150 films since making his screen debut in 1951, and has won three Japanese Academy Awards for Best Actor, and a further seven nominations. Koichi Sato is his son.

Ittoku Kishibe is a Japanese actor. The veteran of over 80 films, he won the Best Actor Japanese Academy Award for "Shi no toge" in 1991, and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award in 1994. He is currently playing Yotsuya for the live-action drama of "Maison Ikkoku".

(real name Kiyoshi Karasawa) is a Japanese theatre and film actor. He made his theatrical debut in the play "Voice Review Stay Gold" (ボーイズレビュー・ステイゴールド "Bōizu Rebyū Sutei Gōrudo") in 1987. He specialises in theatrical action sequences such as swordplay and fighting. He is also best known for providing the voice of Woody in the Japanese dub of the Toy Story movies. He has been nominated for two Japanese Academy Awards, …

Kazuyuki Izutsu is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and film critic. He received two Japanese Academy Award nominations in 2006 for writing and directing "Pacchigi!".

is a Japanese actor. He has received ten Japanese Academy Award nominations, winning twice, for "Dun-Huang" in 1988 (Best Actor) and "Gakko" in 1993 (Best Actor). He is best known for his fishing comedy series, known as Tsuribaka Nisshi (釣りバカ日誌) (English literal translation: "The Fishing Maniac's Diary"), which currently spans eighteen movies. Outside Japan, Nishida is probably best known for his portrayal of Pigsy in the TV series "Monkey".

Kankuro Kudo is a Japanese screenwriter, dramatist, director, actor and member of the theater company "Otona Keikaku". He won the 'Best Screenplay' award at the 2002 Japanese Academy Awards for "Go", which explores problems faced by people of Korean-heritage living in Japan. He also acted in the hugely popular tear-jerker, Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World. Also he is a member of the Japanese Rock Band Group Tamashi. __NOTOC_

Shunya Ito is a Japanese film director famed for starting the "Sasori" ("Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion", etc.) series of 1970s exploitation films based on Toru Shinohara's manga and starring Meiko Kaji. Ito worked for Toei Company for most of his career. He won Best Picture at the Japanese Academy Awards in 1985 with his film "Gray Sunset", a story of a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Mari Natsuki (夏木 マリ "Natsuki Mari"), real name Junko Nakajima, is a Japanese singer, dancer and actress. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, and started work as a singer from a very young age, her specialty being jazz and a level of sensuality that was somewhat shocking in a Japan as conservative as it was at the time. Her movements, even while singing, are smooth, graceful and have a trademark undulating of the hand at the audience which, …

Akira Emoto is a Japanese actor. In 1999 he won the Japanese Academy Award for 'Best Actor' for his performance in "Kanzo-sensei", known in English as "Dr. Akagi".

is a Japanese actress. She is popular for her cute looks and cheerful image. She made her big break with NHK's television series "Asuka" and JT Green's commercial. She has gone on to star in many TV shows, movies, and commercials. On May 10, 2005, Takeuchi married Shidō Nakamura, a Kabuki actor. They met during the filming of the movie "Be with You". They divorced on November 1, 2006.

Kaori Momoi is a Japanese actress. Momoi was born in Tokyo, and at the young age of 12 traveled to London to study dance at the Royal Ballet Academy. After 3 years she returned to Tokyo, later graduating from Japan's Bungakuza School of Dramatic Arts. In 1971, Momoi debuted in director Kon Ichikawa's "Ai Futatabi" (Love Again) beginning a career that has already spanned 35 years and over 60 films.

Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor. He has twice been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award at the Japanese Academy Awards, once for "Warau iemon" and once for "Kita no zeronen".

Yuta Hiraoka is a Japanese actor. He won the 'Best Newcomer' prize at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2005 for his film debut in "Swing Girls".

Kunie Tanaka is a Japanese actor who has appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's "Sanjuro" and "The Bad Sleep Well" and Masaki Kobayashi's "Kwaidan". He has been nominated for five Japanese Academy Awards, winning the Best Supporting Actor statuette for "Gakko" in 1993.

is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 1994 Best Actress award for her performance in "Niji no hashi", and the 1992 awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer for her performance as Seiko Kawashima in "Musuko"

is a Chinese-born Japanese actress. She has been nominated for 4 Japanese Academy Awards, and won the 1981 Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role prize for her performance in "Zigeunerweisen".

is an anime and film editor and director born on November 29, 1936. Okayasu was nominated for two Japanese Academy Awards: in 1997 for "Unagi" and in 1998 for "Dr. Akagi", both for Best Editor

Takako Tokiwa is a Japanese actress. Takako was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She was nominated for the 'Best Actress' award at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2005 for her performance in "Akai Tsuki".

Rena Tanaka is a Japanese actress and TV personality. In 1999 she won the Japanese Academy Award for 'Best Newcomer' for her performance in "Ganbatte Ikimasshoi"; in 2001 she received a 'Best Actress' nomination for "Hatsukoi". She has been learning to speak Mandarin (already she can speak a few words of Mandarin).

Akihiko Matsumoto was born on February 14 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a composer of film and video game music. His soundtrack to the Japanese cult classic "Bayside Shakedown" sold over 800,000 copies in Japan and won "Best Soundtrack" at the 22nd Annual Japanese Academy Awards.

is a Japanese actor and film director. He was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in "Sen no Rikyu". He made his directing debut in 2001, and has taken leading roles in-front of the camera in the three films he has directed as of 2006.

is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 2000 Best Actress award for "Poppoya", and the 1979 awards for both Best Actress "(Jiken)" and Best Supporting Actress "(Seishoku no ishibumi)". She has received a total of 12 nominations.