The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced three new initiatives for its 2026 edition: a competitive Nippon Cinema Now section for Japanese filmmakers, an expanded Southeast Asia strand called Crosscut Asia+, and the Kawakita Kashiko Award recognising women's contributions to cinema. Festival director Hisamatsu Takeo said the changes are intended to spotlight Japanese talent internationally and give emerging and established filmmakers a stronger platform on the global stage, marking a deliberate broadening of TIFF's remit beyond its existing programming.

Nippon Cinema Now will hand out a Best Film prize and a Special Jury Prize, judged by a mixed Japanese and international panel. Crosscut Asia+, developed with the Japan Foundation and succeeding the 2014–2019 Crosscut Asia strand, launches with a Japan-Indonesia-curated line-up of six films under the theme "Side by Side". The inaugural Kawakita Kashiko Award, named after pioneering distributor Kawakita Kashiko, goes to veteran film critic Hata Sahoko, who brought works including Godard's "Breathless" to Japanese audiences; it will be presented as part of TIFF's Women's Empowerment section. The 39th festival runs from 26 October to 4 November, hosted by Unijapan.