# List of Japanese films of 1998
## Highest-grossing films

| Rank | Title | Gross |
| 1 | Bayside Shakedown | ¥5.00 billion |
| 2 | Pokémon: The First Movie | ¥4.15 billion |
| 3 | Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas | ¥2.10 billion |

## List of films

A list of films released in Japan in 1998 (see 1998 in film).
Japanese films released in 1998 :
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
| A | Tatsuya Mori | | Documentary | About Aum Shinrikyo cult |
| After Life | Hirokazu Koreeda | Arata, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima | Fantasy | |
| Andromedia | Takashi Miike | Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara | | |
| April Story | Shunji Iwai | Takako Matsu, Tanabe Seiichi | Drama | |
| Begging for Love | Hideyuki Hirayama | Mieko Harada, Maho Nonami, Kiichi Nakai | Drama | |
| Beru • Epokku | Joji Matsuoka | Hikaari Ishida, Kyōka Suzuki, Isako Washio | — | |
| The Bird People in China | Takashi Miike | Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Mako | — | |
| Blues Harp | Takashi Miike | Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Seiichi Tanabe, Saori Sekino | — | |
| Bullet Ballet | Shinya Tsukamoto | Shinya Tsukamoto, Hisashi Igawa | — | |
| Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target | Kanetsugu Kodama | | — | Animated film |
| Crayon Shin-chan: Blitzkrieg! Pig's Hoof's Secret Mission | Keiichi Hara | | — | Animated film |
| Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas | Tsutomu Shibayama | | — | Animated film |
| The Doraemons ⋆ The Great Springing Inspections Military Operation | Yoshitomo Yonetani | | — | Animated short |
| Dr. Akagi | Shōhei Imamura | Akira Emoto, Kumiko Asō | Comedy drama | Japanese-French co-production |
| Flowers of Shanghai | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Annie Yi, Michiko Hada | Drama | Japanese-Taiwanese co-production | The Geisha House | Kinji Fukasaku | Maki Miyamoto |
| Kizuna | Kichitaro Negishi | Kōji Yakusho, Ken Watanabe, Yumi Asō | — | |
| Love & Pop | Hideaki Anno | | | |
| Megaranger vs. Carranger | — | | — | |
| Moon Light Dinner | Yutaka Ikejima | Kanae Mizuhara Yumi Yoshiyuki | Pink | Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best New Actress - Pink Grand Prix |
| Odoru daisosasen – The Movie | Katsuyuki Motohiro | Yūji Oda, Toshirō Yanagiba, Eri Fukatsu | — | |
| Ping Pong Hot Springs | Gen Yamakawa | Keiko Matsuzaka, Riho Akise, Satoshi Yamanaka | — | |
| Pokémon: The First Movie | Kunihiko Yuyama | | | Animated film; first film based on the Pokémon franchise. |
| Rasen | Jōji Iida | Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kōichi Satō | Horror | |
| Rebirth of Mothra III | Okihiro Yoneda | Megumi Kobayashi, Misato Tate, Aki Flano | — | |
| Return of Doraemon | Ayumu Watanabe | | — | Animated short |
| Ring | Hideo Nakata | Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rikiya Ōtaka | Horror | |
| Sada | Nobuhiko Obayashi | Hitomi Kuroki, Tsurutaro Kataoka, Norihei Miki | Drama | |
| Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl | Katsuhito Ishii | Tadanobu Asano, Sie Kohinata, Ittoku Kishibe | Action | |
| The Story of PuPu | Kensaku Watanabe | Sakura Uehara, Reiko Matsuo | Road movie | |
| Tokyo Eyes | Jean-Pierre Limosin | Shinji Takeda, Hinano Yoshikawa, Kaori Mizushima | Thriller, romance | French-Japanese co-production |
| Tomie | Ataru Oikawa | Mami Nakamura, Miho Kanno, Yoriko Doguchi | Horror | |
| Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light | — | | | |
| Yomigaeru Yūsaku: Tantei Monogatari Tokubetsu-hen | | | | |