Michihito Fujii

Michihito Fujii (藤井 道人, born August 14, 1986) is a Japanese filmmaker whose life has been shaped by a blend of artistic curiosity and disciplined martial practice. Born in Shibuya, Tokyo, he spent his earliest years in Manhattan because his father’s banking career required a transfer, returning to Japan at age four and later moving to Nakano where he excelled in kendo, winning second place in a city‑wide competition in fifth grade. His grandfather, an overseas Chinese doctor from Tainan, Taiwan, gave Fujii a multicultural heritage that later informed his cross‑border projects. While attending Rissho High School, he discovered cinema by repeatedly borrowing films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Chungking Express, experiences that ignited his desire to become a screenwriter. At Nihon University he joined a film production club, studied under screenwriter Kenji Aoki, and founded the production company Babel Label in 2010 with college friends, financing his early independent works through commercials and music videos. He practiced kendo 360 days a year until a leg injury in 2012 ended his competitive career, but he often likens filmmaking to kendo team competition, emphasizing respect, patience, and collaboration.

Fujii’s breakthrough arrived with the politically charged drama The Journalist (2019), a film he eventually agreed to direct after persistent persuasion from producer Mitsunobu Kawamura; the movie earned the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize for Picture of the Year and was later adapted into a six‑part Netflix series he also helmed. Subsequent successes include The Last 10 Years (2022), a lyrical exploration of seasonal change that grossed over $26 million across East Asia, and the Taiwan‑Japan co‑production 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (2024), which fulfilled his long‑standing dream of bridging cultures through cinema. A devoted collaborator, Fujii frequently works with actor Ryusei Yokohama, whom he describes as “a part of my body,” and continues to shape contemporary Japanese film with a distinctive blend of personal history, visual poetry, and disciplined craft.