Masayuki Suo's I Just Didn't Do It has been ranked best film of the year and awarded three major prizes by Kinema Junpo, Japan's oldest film magazine.

In addition to coming first in Kinema Junpo's annual Top 10, the film won best director and screenplay for Suo and best actor for Ryo Kase (Letters From Iwo Jima).

Kinema Junpo acting prizes factor in each performer's other films during the year (Kase also appeared in Megane and Invitation From Cinema Orion). The best actress award went to Yuko Takeuchi (Midnight Eagle, Dog In A Sidecar).

Best supporting actor went to Tomokazu Miura (Always: Sunset On Third Street 2, Adrift In Tokyo) and supporting actress to Hiromi Nagasaku (Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers). Chinese director Jia Zhangke (Still Life) picked up the best foreign director prize.

Now in their 81st year, the Kinema Junpo prizes are considered one of the most respected in the industry. The awards ceremony will be held on February 5.

I Just Didn't Do It was also submitted as Japan's official entry to the foreign-language category of this year's Academy Awards and received 11 nominations in the upcoming Japan Academy Awards.

Based on years of legal system research by Suo, I Just Didn't Do It follows the struggles of a young businessman played by Ryo Kase who professes innocence after he's accused of groping a teenaged girl on a train. Koji Yakusho stars as his defense lawyer. The film was Suo's return to the director's chair after a 10-year hiatus since Shall We Dance (1996).

I Just Didn't Do It was produced by Fuji TV's Chihiro Kameyama with Altamira Pictures and Toho, which distributed the film in Japan. Pony Canyon handles the film's international sales.

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