Japanese director Akira Kurosawa is set to be posthumously honoured by the Writers Guild of America (Wga) alongside three of his longtime collaborators.

The filmmaker, who passed away in 1998, will be named the recipient of the 2013 Jean Renoir Award for Screenwriting Achievement at a special ceremony in Los Angeles on 17 February (13).

He will be feted alongside his collaborators, writers Ryuzo Kikushima and Hideo Oguni, and screenwriter/director Shinobu Hashimoto. Hashimoto, 94, is the only surviving member of the group.

Writers Guild of America West Vice President Howard Rodman says, "These four men, working in loose collaboration, are responsible for writing many, many masterpieces - films that reflect the Japanese culture, and have given all of us a taste of the sublime."

Seven Samurai director Kurosawa received an honorary Oscar in 1990. Kikushima died in 1989, while Oguni passed away in 1996.