The cinema of Japan predates that of Russia, China, and India, and it has been able to sustain itself without outside assistance for over a century. Japanese cinema's long history of production and considerable output has seen films made in a variety of genres, including melodramas, romances, gangster movies, samurai movies, musicals, horror films, and monster films. It has also produced some of the most famous names in the history of cinema: Akira Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki, Beat Takeshi, Toshirô Mifune, Godzilla, The Ring, Akira, Rashomon, and Seven Samurai.

日本的电影业比俄罗斯、中国和印度的电影业发展得早，一个多世纪以来，日本一直能够在没有外来援助的情况下维持自己的发展。日本电影有着悠久的制作历史和可观的产量，电影种类繁多，包括剧情片、浪漫片、黑帮片、武士片、音乐剧、恐怖片和怪兽片。它还产生了一些电影史上最著名的名字：黑泽明，宫崎骏，节拍竹，东芝，哥斯拉，戒指，秋原，罗生门，七武士。