The is a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 created to represent the interests of film directors in the film industry

Film industry

The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It was founded in 1936, with Minoru Murata

Minoru Murata

was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Murata started out as a shingeki actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first "pure films" directed by Norimasa Kaeriyama at Tenkatsu in 1918...

 serving as the first president, and has continued to this day apart from a period between 1943 and 1949 when it was disbanded at first on orders from the government. It is particularly concerned with protecting the copyright and other rights the director has over the work, defending freedom of expression, and promoting the economic interests of its members. For instance, it has issued protests against efforts to prevent screenings of such films as Yasukuni

Yasukuni (2007 film)

is the title of a 2007 film made by Japan-resident Chinese director Li Ying . It took 10 years to complete and had been screened at the Pusan International Film Festival 2007, World Cinema Competition Sundance Film Festival 2008 and Berlin Film Festival 2008...

and The Cove. The Guild also produced the film Eiga kantoku tte nan da (What Is a Film Director?) on the occasion of its 70th anniversary to promote its view that the director possesses the copyright of a film.

It also gives out an annual New Directors Award

Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award

The is given annually by the Directors Guild of Japan to a new director of a film released that year who is considered the most "suitable" for the award. The winner is selected by a committee formed of DGJ members. All formats—feature film, documentary, television, video, etc.—are eligible for...

.

The current president is Yōichi Sai, and past presidents include Kenji Mizoguchi

Kenji Mizoguchi

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...

, Yasujirō Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu

was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...

, Heinosuke Gosho

Heinosuke Gosho

was a Japanese film director who directed Japan's first talkie, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, in 1931. He once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan.- Selected filmography :* Aiyoku no ki...

, Nagisa Ōshima

Nagisa Oshima

is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....

, and Yōji Yamada

Yoji Yamada

is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ....

.