Sugita Shigemichi is a Japanese director and film director. He has served as an Executive Director at Fuji Television and as the President of Nihon Eiga Broadcasting. He was also the President of the Japan Association of TV Program Directors from 2003 to 2015.

He was born as the youngest of three siblings in Shinmachi, Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His family home was a long-established sake wholesaler that had been in business for 300 years since the Edo period. His brother is the pianist Sugita Tanemichi.

In 1962, he graduated from Aichi Prefectural Jishukan High School and went on to study in the Faculty of Letters at Keio University. He graduated from university in 1967. Although he initially aspired to work in journalism, he joined Fuji Television. However, he was assigned to the First Production Direction Department of the Programming Bureau, where he worked as an assistant director in drama production under prominent Fuji directors.

In 1970, he made his debut as a director with "Television Night Show." Six months later, he was transferred to the News Department, where he worked on "Weekly News." Subsequently, he was dispatched to the Sankei Shimbun and served as a reporter in the social affairs department, where he was part of the Environment Agency's press club and even wrote front-page articles for the newspaper. Just when he was beginning to find the work of a newspaper reporter quite interesting, he received orders to return to Fuji Television and was assigned to the Public Relations Department.

Around that time, he developed a strong desire to work in the Production Department and create dramas. However, due to Fuji Television's separation of production at the time, this was not possible. Instead, he was invited by Shimada Shinichi to join the affiliate production company, Shinsei Production. In 1973, he made his debut as a drama director with "Kimo no Tsubo Torimonochou." From then on, he consistently worked in drama direction.

In 1988, he made his debut as a film director with "Winning Ticket ORACION."

In June 2001 Sugita became the president of Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting. In June 2021, he stepped down to become a Director and Advisor.

(Source: Japanese = Wikipedia || Translation = MyDramaList) Edit Biography