On Friday, the 26th Fujimoto Prize, which honors excellence among producers and directors, was awarded to TBS producer Kazuya Hamana. Hamana handled ten films within the past year, including "Nada Sousou" and "Sinking of Japan."

Special prizes were given to director Masayuki Suo ("Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai"), director Kihachiro Kawamoto ("The Book of the Dead"), and actor Ken Watanabe (for his role as a producer of "Memories of Tomorrow"). Newcomer awards were presented to directors Yoshiko Senbon ("Akai Kujira to Shiroi Hebi") and Takayuki Nakamura ("Yokohama Mary").