Three Japanese Films Join Cannes Competition 2026

Three Japanese films have been selected for the main competition section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, drawing strong attention from the global film industry.

Among the 22 films competing for the festival’s top prize, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film Ship in the Box is already generating discussion for its story about humanoid robots and human emotions.

The Cannes Film Festival is considered one of the world’s most prestigious film events. Winning an award there often brings major international recognition. Every year, filmmakers, critics, and audiences closely follow the films selected for competition because many new storytelling trends and cinematic styles emerge from Cannes.

Kore-eda’s Ship in the Box explores the emotional relationship between humans and machines. The story follows a couple who create a humanoid robot modeled after their child who died at a young age. Through the film, the director examines grief, loneliness, and emotional attachment in the age of advanced technology.

The film marks Kore-eda’s eighth appearance in Cannes’ main competition section. He previously won the Palme d’Or in 2018 for Shoplifters.

Interest in humanoid robots has been growing worldwide, especially in countries investing heavily in robotics research. Recent developments in China, including a robot half-marathon event in Beijing, have highlighted how quickly the technology is advancing. However, humanoid robots have rarely been explored deeply in art and cinema. Kore-eda’s latest film attempts to bring that debate to the big screen.

Another major Japanese filmmaker, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, is also returning to the Cannes competition lineup this year. His new film All of a Sudden tells the story of a relationship between a Japanese woman receiving cancer treatment in a Paris nursing home and the institution’s director.

Hamaguchi previously gained international acclaim with Drive My Car, which competed at Cannes in 2021.

The third Japanese film in the main competition is director Koji Fukada’s Nagi Notes. The inclusion of films by three leading Japanese directors in the same competition lineup has sparked discussion in Japanese media and increased excitement among film audiences.

Outside the main competition, another Japanese film, All the Lovers in the Night by director Yukiko Sode, has been selected for a secondary competition section.

Meanwhile, veteran director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s new film Kokurozo, internationally titled Samurai and the Prisoner, will be screened in the Cannes Premiere section, which showcases recent works by renowned filmmakers from around the world.

Film lovers are now waiting to see whether Japanese cinema can make a major impact at this year’s festival.