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Japanese film awards

The Blue Ribbon Awards (ブルーリボン賞) are film specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists (東京映画記者会), established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from the Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Mainichi Shimbun. Currently The Association is made up of film reporters from seven sports newspapers in Tokyo: Sports Hochi (previously Hochi Shimbun), Sankei Sports, Sponichi, Daily Sports, Tokyo Sports, Tokyo Chunichi Sports, and Nikkan Sports.

Film reporters from the Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Mainichi Shimbun took the lead in calling other reporters to "look back on the film industry over the past year, discuss the results, and summarize them". From the 4th (1953) to the 7th editions (1956), the award ceremony took place in Namikiza, in Ginza, with the cooperation of Toho producer Sanezumi Fujimoto, its owner. The award included a statuette designed by manga artist Taizo Yokoyama. The Newcomer Award was first given in the 2nd edition. led to the temporary suspension of the Blue Ribbon Award (as well as other awards). With many voices asking for the return of the ceremony, in particular those of the younger generation of reporters, in 1975, the awards were revived. Although the award is not acclaimed highly on an international level, the Blue Ribbon Awards have become one of the most prestigious national cinema awards in Japan, along with the Kinema Junpo Awards (キネマ旬報賞) and the Mainichi Film Awards (Mainichi Film Concours). Winning one of these awards is considered to be a great honour. In addition, the winning films themselves have a tendency to receive high distinctions in other film festivals around the world. Some of the films nominated include The Hidden Fortress (1958), The Insect Woman (1963), Vengeance Is Mine (1979), A Scene at the Sea (1991), Spirited Away (2001), The Twilight Samurai (2002), Nobody Knows (2004) and Battle Royale (2001), Shin Godzilla (2016), Fukushima 50 (2020), and Godzilla Minus One (2023). The public event ceremony is hosted by the Best Actor and Best Actress award winners of the previous year, and has been held every year since 1975 until 2020, when it was suspended because of the COVID 19 pandemic. It resumed in 2024 for the 66th edition, the hosts being Chieko Baisho and Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya in this occasion. The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists opened on 23 January 2024 an official X (formerly Twitter) account for the Blue Ribbon Awards.