2024
SINCE 1985

C O N T E N T S

JAPAN PRIZE - Peace and prosperity for mankind-2Science and Technology towards Wisdom-3The Japan Prize Foundation-4Directors, Auditors and Councilors of the Foundation

Projects of the Foundation-6THE JAPAN PRIZE-8Nomination and Selection Process
Fields Selection Committee and Selection Committee
Eligible Fields for the 2025 Japan Prize

Proﬁles of Japan Prize Laureates-11Donating to our Foundation-52-

JAPAN PRIZE - Peace and prosperity for mankind

ChairmanHiroshi Komiyama
The Earth is just one of a countless number of planets in ourvast universe. While our small planet was born 4.5 billion years

the Japan Prize will play a crucial role in promoting scienceand technology that will answer such questions.

ago, our ancestors only emerged during the last few million
years, a relatively recent event in cosmic terms. Humanity

The advancement of science has blessed us with an enormous

continued to prosper as a species, and eventually went on tobody of accumulated knowledge. Knowledge is humanity’s mostdevelop civilization. While people’s lives have undoubtedly

prized asset. Because of its sheer volume, it has become diﬃcult

improved, progress has been extremely slow. However, theto grasp the overall picture of just how much knowledge westart of the industrial revolution roughly 200 years ago changed

now have. This has combined with the increasing complexity ofthe situation completely. The pace of development accelerated

our ever-more aﬄuent society and with the changes made tosigniﬁcantly, particularly in the 20th century, and scientiﬁc andour planet in order to attain that aﬄuence, resulting in us

technological advancement have been the driving force behind

becoming more anxious about our future. In other words,

this development that has made people’s lives even richer.

scientiﬁc development itself is the source of that anxiety, whichmeans that scientists must confront this problem head on. In

People now live much longer. In fact, most people throughout

order to solve the various problems we face, we must work

history lived very short lives. The average life span was only 31

together to build bridges between ﬁelds, to transcend theyears even in the early 20th century, but that has now increased

boundaries between the fragmented bailiwicks of scientiﬁc

to 72 years. We have achieved our eternal dream of longevity,

knowledge. We cannot deny the possibility that science andsuggesting that at least here civilization has been a success.

technology can be misused, but I remain convinced that we
possess the wisdom needed to prevent that from happening.

The Japan Prize was established to honor the achievements
in science and technology that contribute to the peace and

The Heisei Memorial Research Grant Program was estab-prosperity of humanity. Tracing back the history of awards

lished in 2019 as a means to support the future of our civiliza-presented to date, I get a sense of how much people’s lives

tion and scientiﬁc and technological development. It washave improved and how much science and technology havenamed thusly as an expression of our heartfelt gratitude to Their

contributed to that. I remain convinced that the Japan Prize

Majesties the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita of Japan,

has a signiﬁcant role to play, and I will continue to work

who have shown unwavering support for the Japan Prize since

towards fulﬁlling that role.

the ﬁrst ceremony was held in 1985. We hope the program willencourage motivated researchers to take on further challenges.

However, I cannot deny that I have some trepidation about
the future of our world and the people who live upon it. Will we

The Foundation will continue to contribute to achieving

be able to protect our beautiful planet? Can we continue topeace and prosperity for humanity through the Japan Prize,

work towards prosperity for humanity as a whole, without

through our research grants, and through the promotion ofleaving some of us behind? These are the fundamental

science and technology education into the future.

questions that we must be asking ourselves. I am conﬁdent that2

Science and Technology towards Wisdom

President

Ryozo Nagai
Humans are born with a desire for knowledge. Our insatiable

Cabinet in 1983, with its objectives being to promote research andcuriosity forms the basis of science, which itself is the founda-

development that advances science and technology, and to raisetion upon which knowledge is built. The application of scientif-

public awareness of science and technology. The Japan Prize is

ic knowledge in technology has transformed society, andpresented to researchers from around the world whose work is

technological development has in turn deepened our under-

recognized as being both original and groundbreaking, and as

standing of science as well. The partnering of science andhaving signiﬁcantly contributed to the peace and prosperity oftechnology has expanded human knowledge, and has had ahumanity. Their Imperial Majesties attend the award ceremony

powerful impact on both our awareness and society. However,held every year in April alongside representatives from various

scientiﬁc and technological development also poses a potential

ﬁelds. The Japan Prize has become what it is today through thethreat to humanity ‒ both its activities and its very survival ‒eﬀorts, cooperation, and support of these numerous individuals.

with it being harnessed in the waging of war, and having had a

What makes the Japan Prize special is its emphasis on contribut-

negative impact on our planet’s environment. Artiﬁcial intelli-ing to society. This emphasis reﬂects the hopes of the many

gence is developing at a remarkable pace, and is being utilized

people involved in it, including the ﬁrst chairman of what wouldin a wide range of scientiﬁc research and technological devel-

become the Japan Prize Foundation, Konosuke Matsushita.

opment, but it can also be easily used to produce false information. If such usage becomes widespread, it will become moreIn this era of global change, the knowledge we gain fromand more diﬃcult to determine what is true and what is not.

research into science and technology can serve as a guiding
light for humanity. Science and technology can be described

In the face of this, we must ensure that we harvest not only

metaphorically as an orchard that, if carefully nurtured, will

the fruit of scientiﬁc and technological research, but also that

continue to always bear fruit. This tree of science must be

we recognize the duality of its nature; we must consider thepreserved and passed on to future generations, and for that

dangers inherent to such development and think about thereason, the Foundation has taken on the important task ofpotential impact on people, on society, and on how we live.

cultivating young researchers. We established the Heisei Memorial Research Grant Program in 2019, naming it thusly to expressThat being said, while there are many problems that can arise

our gratitude to Their Majesties the Emperor Emeritus andout of scientiﬁc and technological development, we continue toEmpress Emerita for the extraordinarily kind involvement in thehave high expectations for the good it can do. Our thirst forestablishment of the grant. It is our hope that it will support theknowledge remains unquenched, and with the acquisition of such

independence of young researchers and contribute to theirknowledge, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. Scientiﬁc

professional development.

and technological research is needed to resolve the very issues
that such research brings to light, and the people of Japan look tosuch research as a means of contributing to a better world.

The Japan Prize Foundation aims to serve as the soil in which
the wisdom and knowledge of science and technology cangrow, and in taking on that role, we hope to contribute to the

The Japan Prize was established with the approval of thepeace and prosperity of all humanity.

3

The Japan Prize Foundation
Name
The Japan Prize Foundation

Objectives
Bearing in mind the fact that peace and prosperity for mankind is the common aspiration of all people, the Japan Prize Foundationencourages research that will contribute to the development of science and technology, and promotes the comprehensive spread anddevelopment of ideas and information in science and technology.

Activities
The Foundation conducts the following activities to accomplish its objectives:
1) Recognize outstanding achievements in science and technology with the Japan Prize
2) Encourage the study of science and technology through research grants and promotional activities
3) Promote the diﬀusion of knowledge and philosophy in science and technology through various activities
including dissemination of information materials, research papers, and seminars
4) Other activities to fulﬁll the objectives of the Foundation

History
1982

The Japan Prize Preparatory Foundation is launched.

1983

The establishment of the Japan Prize is endorsed by the Cabinet.

1985

The 1st Japan Prize Presentation Ceremony is held.

1989

The Foundation starts hosting “Easy-to-understand Science and Technology Seminars”.

2006

The Foundation starts awarding research grants.

2010

On October 1, 2010, the Foundation was reorganized as a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation and was renamed“The Japan Prize Foundation”.

2020

The Foundation re-launches the research grants as the Heisei Memorial Research Grant Program.

Cabinet Endorsement
The Government issued the following cabinet endorsementon the establishment of the Japan Prize on October 28, 1983:
The oﬃcial position of the Japanese Government is that theJapan Prize, to be bestowed by the Science and Technology
Foundation of Japan*, will serve to deepen the understanding of
the role played by science and technology in furthering world
peace and prosperity, thereby making a vital contribution to thepositive development of mankind. Based on this judgment, thegovernment agencies concerned are urged to oﬀer whatevercooperation necessary in all phases pertinent to this Prize.
(Cabinet Endorsement, October 28, 1983)* The oﬃcial documents of the Cabinet Endorsement* Current “Japan Prize Foundation”

4Directors, Auditors and Councilors of the Foundation■ Chairman, Directors, Auditors
ChairmanPresident

Hiroshi Komiyama

Chairman of the InstituteMitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.
The 28th President of the University of Tokyo

Ryozo Nagai

President, Jichi Medical University
Professor Emeritus, The University of TokyoManaging
Director

Yasuhiro Mashiko

Directors

Masahiro Ando

Secretary General, The Japan Prize Foundation

Chairman

Masayuki Oku

ViceChairman

Kazuhiko Fushiya

Councilors

Yuichiro Anzai

Honorary Advisor, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
Former President, Board of Audit of Japan
CEO, the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research
Senior Advisor, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Michinari Hamaguchi

President, National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Director General, Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced
Vaccine, Research and Development for
Preparedness and Response
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Counselor to the President
Japan Science and Technology Agency

Hideaki Kobayashi

Junko Kawamura

Former Director General, State Guest Houses

Maki Kawai

Emeritus Professor
Okinaga Research Institute of Teikyo University

Masayuki Matsushita

Special Corporate Advisor, Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Yasutaka Moriguchi

Representative Director
The Japan Foundation of Public Communication
on Science and Technology
Auditors■ Councilors

Masakazu Kubota

Vice Chair & President, Keidanren

Hiroshi Ozaki

Senior Advisor, Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.

Senior Advisor, Japan Arts Council

Hideo Miyahara

Professor Emeritus, Osaka University

George Nakayama

Senior Adviser, Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited

Nobutake Odano

Special Advisor to the Board of Chamberlains
Imperial Household Agency

Hiroshi Tomono

Senior Advisor, Nippon Steel Corporation

Kazuhiro Tsuga

Chairperson of the Board, Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Yukako Uchinaga

President ＆ CEO, Globalization Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Founder and Honorary Chairman
Japan Women's Innovative Network

Juichi Yamagiwa

Director-General
The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
National Institutes for the Humanities■ Special Advisor
Yoshio Yazaki

Chairman, Board of Regents, Tokyo Medical University

Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

Former President, The University of Tokyo(alphabetical order, titles as of June, 2024)

5

Projects of the Foundation

JAPAN PRIZE
The creation of the Japan Prize was motivated by the Japanese government’s desire to “contribute to the development of science andtechnology worldwide by establishing a prestigious international award.” The Japan Prize was established in 1983 with a cabinet endorsement and is supported by numerous private donations.
The award honors scientists and researchers from around the world, recognizing individuals who have contributed signiﬁcantly to thepeace and prosperity of humankind through original and outstanding achievements that have greatly advanced the progress of science andtechnology.
Researchers working in all ﬁelds of science and technology are eligible to receive the Japan Prize. Each year, it is awarded for achievements in two ﬁelds, which are selected by considering recent developments in science and technology. As a general rule, one award is given
for each ﬁeld and each laureate receives a certiﬁcate of merit, a prize medal, and prize of 100 million yen.
The Presentation Ceremony is held annually in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and is also attended
by the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the House of Councillors, the Chief Justice of theSupreme Court, numerous government ministers, and eminent ﬁgures from various other areas.

The Japan Prize logo was designed by Mr. Yusaku Kamekura, then President of Japan Graphic Designers
Association Inc. Commenting on his work, Mr. Kamekura said, “I used the image of the sun, the source of allenergy for its primary design. The circles were added to represent perfection and truth”.

6平成記念研究助成贈呈式

Heisei Memorial Research Grant Program
The Heisei Memorial Research Grant Program is named after Their Majesties the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, who have beeninterested in the research activities of young scientists and have encouraged them for many years.
The Foundation primarily provides research grants to scientists under 45 years of age. The Foundation annually selects four to eightscientists engaged in research that transcends the boundaries between diﬀerent ﬁelds and disciplines and contributes to solving social
issues. They are then provided with grants worth ﬁve to ten million yen.
The Heisei Memorial Research Grant was established as a means of expressing our profound appreciation to their Majesties the Emperor
Emeritus and Empress Emerita for their great generosity in granting this award.
(Applicants must belong to a research organization in Japan to be eligible for a grant.)

Easy-to-Understand Science and Technology Seminars
The Foundation holds various seminars for students and other members of the public. These seminars are conducted by experts who use
plain language to explain the advanced technologies commonly used in everyday life.
More than 300 seminars have been held since the program was launched in March 1989.

7

THE JAPAN PRIZE
Nomination and Selection Process■ Nomination and Selection Process for the 2024 Japan Prize Laureates
2022

2023
July - October

1

November2

2024

January

3

November

4

１ Consider the eligible fields for the 2024 Japan Prize

5

5(Board of Directors)

Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure
Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Science

6

January

7

April

8

Japan Prize（Selection Committee）
Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure（Selection Subcommittee）

Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Science（Selection Subcommittee）

2

Determine the eligible fields for the 2024 Japan Prize

6

Selecting the Laureates of the 2024 Japan Prize

3

Invite the nominations

7

Announce the Laureates of the 2024 Japan Prize

4

Closing of the nominations

8

The 2024 Japan Prize Presentation Ceremony(Board of Directors)(Board of Directors)

・Every November, the Field Selection Committee of The Japan Prize Foundation designates and announces the two ﬁelds in which the Japan
Prize will be awarded two years hence. At the same time, the Foundation invites 15,500 prominent scientists and researchers around the world
to nominate candidates online through the Japan Prize Nomination System. The deadline for nominations is the end of January following theannouncement of ﬁelds.
・For each ﬁeld, a Selection Subcommittee conducts a rigorous evaluation of the candidates’ academic achievements. The conclusions are thenforwarded to the Selection Committee, which conducts evaluations of candidates’ achievements from a wider perspective, considering how the
research contributes to the progress of science and technology, and how signiﬁcant is its impact on advancing the causes of world peace andprosperity. Once this review is complete, the committee then selects the candidates it will recommend for the Prize, and forwards its recommendations to the Board of Directors which makes the ﬁnal decision.
・After the ﬁelds for a speciﬁc year are announced, it takes almost one year to complete the nomination and selection process.
・The Japan Prize winners are announced every January, and the Presentation Ceremony is held in mid-April in Tokyo.

8

Fields Selection Committee and Selection Committee■ Fields Selection Committee for the 2025 Japan Prize
Chairperson

Members

Kohei Miyazono

Hiroyuki Arai

Executive Director, RIKENDistinguished University Professor, Department of Applied Pathology
Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo

Vice-Chairperson

Kazuhito Hashimoto
President
Japan Science and Technology Agency

Yukiko Motomura

Executive Director, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency
Emeritus Professor, The University of Tokyo

Editorial writer
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.

Mutsuko Hatano

Toru Nakano

Professor, Senior Aide to President Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Professor Emeritus
Osaka University

Kazuhiro Hono

Taikan Oki

President
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)

Professor
Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Jinichi Igarashi

Nobuhiro Tsutsumi

Adviser, ENEOS Research Institute, Ltd.
Former Director, Senior Vice President
JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation

Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Erina Kuranaga

Naonori Ueda

Professor, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University
Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kyoto University

Deputy Director, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
Research Professor (Visiting Fellow)
NTT Communication Science Laboratories

Tadahiro Kuroda

Minoru Yoshida

Professor
Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Executive Director, RIKEN
University Professor, Office of University Professors, The University of Tokyo(Names listed in alphabetical order. Titles and positions are valid as of November 2023)■ Members of the 2024 Japan Prize Selection Committee
Chairperson

Members

Makoto Asashima

Mariko Hasegawa

Director Generalof Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization
Research Professor, Teikyo University
Academic Advisor, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo

Deputy Chairperson

Yoichiro Matsumoto
Professor Emeritus
The University of Tokyo

President, Japan Arts Council
Professor Emeritus, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI

Hiroto Ishida

Adviser
The Japan Prize Foundation

Kazunori Kataoka

Vice Chairperson, Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion
Center Director, Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM)
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo

Masayuki Matsushita

Director
The Japan Prize Foundation

Kyosuke Nagata

President
University of Tsukuba

Hideyuki Okano

Professor
Keio University School of Medicine

Tatsuya Okubo
Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Hiroto Yasuura

Director General, Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center, Vice-Director-General
National Institute of Informatics, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation
Research Organization of Information and Systems
Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University■ Selection Subcommittee for the “Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure” ﬁeld
Chairperson

Tatsuya Okubo
Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Members

Keiko Fujioka

Akira Mori

Jun-ichiro Hayashi

Hisashi Nakamura

Yuya Kajikawa

Nobuko Saigusa

Reiko Kuwano

Tohru Setoyama

Shigeo Maruyama

Chiharu Tokoro

President, Functional Fluids Ltd.

Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering
Kyushu University

Deputy Chairperson

Tadafumi Adschiri
Research Professor
Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University

Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives
The University of Tokyo

Professor
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo

Distinguished Professor
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Yoshihiko Matsui

Guest Professor, Waseda University
Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University

Yoshihiro Mizuguchi

Executive Officer Chief Technology Officer
Sustainability Co-Creation Unit
JGC HOLDINGS CORPORATION

Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo

Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo

Director
Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies

Executive Fellow, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Specialist

Akihiko Kondo

Vice President, Kobe University
Professor, Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University

Shunsuke Ono

Associate Professor, School of Computing, Tokyo Institute of Technology■ Selection Subcommittee for the “Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Science” ﬁeld
Chairperson

Members

Hideyuki Okano

Ken J. Ishii

Professor
Keio University School of Medicine

Professor
The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo

Takashi Kadowaki

President
Toranomon Hospital

Deputy Chairperson

Masayuki Miura
Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Hiroyuki Sasaki
University Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University
Specially-Appointed Professor, Medical Institute of Bioregulation Kyushu University

Tomomi Shimogori
Team Leader
Center for Brain Science, RIKEN

Yuko Kitagawa

Taisuke Tomita

Atsushi Kumanogoh

Yasuteru Urano

Shoen Kume

Akihiko Yoshimura

Provost and Vice-President, Keio University
Professor, Keio University School of Medicine
Dean and Professor
Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University
Professor
School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Professor
Keio University School of Medicine

Seishi Ogawa

Professor
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University(Names listed in alphabetical order. Titles and positions are valid as of January 2024)

9

Eligible Fields for the 2025 Japan Prize
Areas of Physics, Chemistry, Informatics, and Engineering

Areas of Life Sciences, Agriculture, Medicine, and Pharmacology

Materials Science and Production

Biological Production, Ecology/
Environment

Background and Rationale:

Background and Rationale:

Rapid developments in science and technology have made 21st
century society increasingly dependent on the development of
new materials and innovative manufacturing technologies.
Advanced materials are driving technological innovation in energy,
medicine, information and communication, environmental protection, nanotechnology, and a wide range of other ﬁelds. Examplesof materials under active research include energy-related materials such as high-performance batteries; biomaterials that could
help people live longer and healthier lives; optical and semiconductor materials that enable ultrafast information processing andtransmission; new functional materials that harness quantum
phenomena; and structural materials used to build the infrastructure that forms the backbone of society. The world is also seeing
major technological innovations in manufacturing and production,from automated technologies using 3D printers and AI, to energy-saving/zero-emission manufacturing technologies and recycling technologies aimed at building a sustainable society. Materials informatics(MI) is another ﬁeld that has seen remarkable progress in recent
years, and MI research is expected to revolutionize conventional
material design and manufacturing technologies. Such advances
are extremely important as they will enrich our lives and help
build a sustainable society.

Throughout history, by raising crops and livestock and accumulating experience and know-how, humans have improved biologicalproduction techniques and made production methods ever more
eﬃcient. In more recent times, scientiﬁc and technical advances
have vastly increased the productivity of those methods andcontributed to rapid population growth. On the other hand, biological production’s growth has brought with it increasingly serious
deterioration of our planet’s environment and loss of biodiversity.
To take full advantage of ecosystem services and ensure stable
and sustainable biological production, innovations in science andtechnology that emphasize protection of the environment andecosystems are indispensable. Notable areas of innovation include,for example, development of cultivation systems and plant varieties
adapted to diﬀerent regional climates and operating scales; optimization of farming processes and environmental monitoring throughthe use of sensing and information and communications technology(ICT); improvement in eﬃciency and precision of biological production through the utilization of robotics; improvement of foodprocessing techniques and food functionality; reduction of food loss
and waste; and diminution of greenhouse gas emissions in all
aspects of production, processing, distribution, and consumption.
Anticipated are the development of novel “bioproducts” derived
from renewable biological material and the development of new
production processes that make use of living organisms’ biological
functions. Methods must also be found to ensure a more equitable
distribution of products among regions and social classes, and toassess fairly the multifaceted values of agriculture, forestry, andﬁsheries industries with roots in local communities.

Eligible Achievements

Eligible Achievements

The 2025 Japan Prize in the ﬁelds of Materials Science and Production will be awarded for the discovery or development of materials
that lead to breakthrough advances in science and technology, or for
dramatic advancements in manufacturing technology that result in
new products, services, or industries.

The 2025 Japan Prize in Biological Production and Ecology/Environment will reward achievements that have created, extended, or
propagated major steps forward in scientiﬁc technology and, byadvancing basic science related to ecology and environmental
science and biological-production-related science and technology,
have made or have the potential to make major contributions tosustainable development of human society in harmony with our
ecosystem.

Schedule (2025-2027)
The ﬁelds of research eligible for the Japan Prize for the years 2025 to 2027 can be found in the table below.
The ﬁelds are rotated in a three-year cycle, and the Field Selection Committee annually announces the eligible ﬁelds for the coming three years.

Areas of Physics, Chemistry, Informatics, and Engineering
Year

10

Eligible Fields

Areas of Life Sciences, Agriculture, Medicine, and Pharmacology
YearEligible Fields

2025

Materials Science and Production

2025

Biological Production, Ecology/Environment

2026

Electronics, Information, and Communication

2026

Life Sciences

2027

Resources, Energy, Environment, and Social Infrastructure

2027

Medical Science and Pharmaceutical ScienceProﬁles of Japan Prize Laureates(Titles at the time)2024
Field of Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure

Field of Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Science

Establishment of a scientiﬁc foundation for understanding
and predicting extreme weather events

Discovery of the nuclear hormone receptor family
and its application to drug development

Prof. Sir Brian J. Hoskins
UK

Prof. John Michael Wallace

Prof. Ronald M. Evans

Born in 1945

USA

Professor,

Professor Emeritus,

Professor,

Department of Meteorology,

Department of Atmospheric Sciences,

Director of Gene Expression Laboratory,

University of Washington

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

University of Reading

Born in 1940

The summer of 2023 saw reports of environmental damage
due to heat waves, heavy rain, and drought throughout thenorthern hemisphere. Japan also experienced record heatlevels, and the Japan Meteorological Agency released a season
forecast in June that predicted that temperatures would continue to trend higher.
Weather and climate are complex phenomena that involve
various factors, but the continued advancement of computer,observation, and forecast technologies and techniques haveallowed for computational numerical weather and climate
forecasting to oﬀer a practical level of accuracy, and it has
become an essential element of the social infrastructure. Much
progress has also been made in clarifying the actual conditions
found when atmospheric circulation changes at various spatiotemporal scales, and in determining their underlying mechanisms. It is now possible to understand not only weather
phenomena in speciﬁc regions, but also how the eﬀects ofchanges in atmospheric circulation in distant regions are transmitted through the atmosphere on a global scale.
Since the 1970s, Prof. Sir Brian Hoskins (theoretical andnumerical models) and Prof. John Wallace (data analysis) haveconducted research in this ﬁeld, and their almost ﬁve decadesof work has contributed greatly to these advancements inmeteorology and climate dynamics.
The ﬁeld of numerical weather and climate forecasting isbuilt upon the research of these two scientiﬁc allies, and now
plays a major societal role in predicting abnormal weather
caused by global warming and helping prevent and mitigate
disasters.

USA Born in 1949

Within the human body are a great number of hormonesthat regulate various functions. Hormones are either water-soluble or fat-soluble, and although it was understood that
fat-soluble hormones are able to pass through cell membranes
to reach nuclei, the receptors of those hormones were
unknown for a long time.
Prof. Ronald Evans was the ﬁrst researcher in the world tosuccessfully isolate the receptors of fat-soluble hormonesand vitamins, and he discovered that these nuclear receptors are a part of a “superfamily” of molecules that have acommon structure. He also showed that nuclear receptors
function as “transcriptional regulators,” which regulate thetranscription (or conversion) of target genes.
These have led to faster drug development, and now roughly
15% of drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) target nuclear receptors.
Evans’ success in gaining a complete understanding of the
48-member nuclear receptor superfamily has not only contributed greatly to academic research, but also to society as awhole.

11

2023
Field of Electronics, Information, and Communication

Field of Life Sciences

Distinguished contributions to global long-distance,high-capacity optical ﬁber network through the developmentof semiconductor laser pumped optical ampliﬁer

The development of methods
that use genetically addressable light-sensitive
membrane proteins to unravel neural circuit function

Prof. Masataka Nakazawa

Prof. Gero Miesenböck

Japan

Born in 1952

Mr. Kazuo Hagimoto

Austria Born in 1965

USA Born in 1971

Distinguished Professor,

Principal Researcher,

Waynﬂete Professor of Physiology,

Professor, Departments ofSpecially Appointed Professor,

National Institute of Information andCentre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour,

Bioengineering and Psychiatry,Communications Technology

University of Oxford

and Howard Hughes Medical InstituteTohoku University

Japan

Born in 1955

The world is more closely connected that ever before
through email, social networks, online meeting spaces andmore, and cloud services have come to be used to store vast
amounts of data. The increased diversiﬁcation and capacity ofinternet-based information technology resources was madepossible by the availability of low-cost optical communication
systems that allow large amounts of information to be quickly
sent great distances.
In the 1980s, Professor Masataka Nakazawa and Mr. Kazuo
Hagimoto combined erbium-doped ﬁber ampliﬁers (EDFA)
with InGaAsP laser diodes to build small-scale, high-eﬃciency,
long-distance optical ampliﬁers, a technology considered
indispensable to the construction of long-distance opticalcommunication systems but which had until that time beendiﬃcult to put into practical use. Within only ﬁve years, repeaters equipped with these optical ampliﬁers were being installedin the transpaciﬁc and transatlantic submarine cables andother communication systems that form the long-distancetransmission network that spans the world. The opticalcommunication systems built upon this technology havecontinued to evolve since that time, and are being used indramatically more applications.
The optical ampliﬁers they developed paved the way forlong-distance, high-capacity optical data transmission, one of
the core technologies supporting global Internet society today.

12

Prof. Karl Deisseroth

Stanford University

All of human behavior ‒ from action to thought, to memoryand decision- making ‒ is governed by the neurons that makeup our brains. Determining the causal relationships between
which neurons inﬂuence which patterns of behavior is a major
topic of research in neuroscience.
Past research into this topic involved activating andsuppressing speciﬁc areas of the brain using electrical stimulation, drugs, and other methods, and then observing how
behavior thereby clarifying the role each region of the brain
plays. However, it was diﬃcult to use such methods to control
the targeted neurons with high precision.
However, a new method has emerged that allows researchers to easily control the activity of speciﬁc neurons by illuminating them with light. It lets research directly study the
relationship between neural activity and behaviors produced
because it can be used on live animals.
Prof. Gero Miesenböck successfully devised the concept andprinciples underlying this technology, and demonstrated its
eﬀectiveness. Prof. Karl Deisseroth developed a unique method
using a photoactivated protein derived from microorganismsthat achieved high spatial and temporal resolution, whichallowed it to be harnessed across a broad range of researchﬁelds.
The use of light stimulation has become an indispensable
tool in neuroscience research, and has led to remarkableprogress in the ﬁeld. It is also expected that this technique will
be useful in medical applications, such as restoring sight for theblind and developing treatments for Parkinson’s disease.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2022
Field of Materials and Production

Field of Biological Production, Ecology/Environment

For pioneering research contributing
to the development of mRNA vaccines

For outstanding contributions to estimationof global
biospheric productivity and climate change science
using advanced formulas based on observation

Prof. Katalin Karikó
Hungary/ USA

Born in 1955

Prof. Drew Weissman
USA Born in 1959

Prof. Christopher Field
USA

Born in 1953

Senior Vice President, BioNTech SE

Professor of Medicine,

Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University

Adjunct Professor, Perelman School

University of Pennsylvania Schoolof Medicine,of Medicine

Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies

University of Pennsylvania

Director Penn Institute

Professor, University of Szeged

for RNA Innovation

COVID-19 vaccinations began in the United States andUnited Kingdom ahead of the rest of the world in December
2020, and people in Japan also became eligible to receive thevaccines in February 2021. It was initially thought that it would
take years to develop the vaccines, but mass production
became possible in only around one year, thus saving many
lives and stemming economic losses across the globe. The
vaccines are now serving as a powerful tool in bringing the
global pandemic to a close. These mRNA (or messenger-RNA)vaccines diﬀer from conventional vaccines.
Like DNA, mRNA is a type of nucleic acid, and it serves as
the blueprint for protein synthesis in the body. Research into
medical applications for mRNA was conducted alongsideresearch into DNA in the 1990s, but it was abandoned due toobstacles caused by undesired immune response.
However, in 2005, Professors Katalin Karikó and Drew
Weissman discovered that by replacing the uridine in mRNA
with a modiﬁed nucleic acid called pseudouridine, they could
suppress that undesired immune response. Furthermore, in
2008, they announced that using pseudouridine allowed themto achieve their goal of increased protein production. These
discoveries opened the doors to using mRNA in medical applications and made it possible for COVID-19 vaccines to be
developed quickly.

Estimates based on the dynamics of the global biosphere are
essential for accurate prediction of future climate change.
Particularly important is to clarify what eﬀect plants, which
serve as sinks for carbon dioxide (CO₂), have on climatechange. Without an understanding of that, it is impossible toknow how much the reduction of artiﬁcial CO₂ emissions will
help in stopping the progress of global warming.
Professor Christopher Field has spent much of his career
accumulating data on living leaves through in-ﬁeld observation, and he used that data to make it possible to express how
the photosynthetic rate of leaves is dependent on the environment in which they grow. Moreover, he developed the equations that enable a plant ecosystem to be considered a single
virtual leaf: the “Big-leaf Model.” He then integrated this withclimate models, satellite observations, and oceanographic
research to clarify the global distribution of CO₂ absorption
across both land and sea, and to identify the factors that aﬀect
CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere.
Field’s research has become the scientiﬁc basis for the
climate change measures being implemented today throughsuch initiatives as the Paris Agreement, an international framework for combatting global warming, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

13

2021
Field of Resources, Energy, Environment, Social Infrastructure

Field of Medical Science, Medicinal Science

Development of High-Eﬃciency
Silicon Photovoltaic Devices

For their pioneering work in conceptualizing a model ofmulti-step carcinogenesis and its application andimpact on improving cancer diagnosis and therapeutics

Prof. Martin Andrew Green
Australia

Born in 1948

Professor, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)

Prof. Bert Vogelstein
USA

Born in 1949

Professor, Johns Hopkins University Schoolof Medicine

Dr. Robert A. Weinberg
USA Born in 1942
Member, Whitehead Institutefor Biomedical Research
Professor, Massachusetts Instituteof Technology (MIT)Prof. Martin Green has pioneered the development ofhigh-eﬃciency silicon photovoltaic devices and contributed
signiﬁcantly to the realization of solar power that is now
cheaper than fossil fuel power.
Especially, he made great achievements in increasing power
conversion eﬃciency dramatically from around 17% to 25% byinnovating advanced technologies and integrating them into
practical devices that now make the transition to a low-carbon
society realistic.
He has also trained the researchers and entrepreneurs who
have played key roles in industrial development and in reducing the price of silicon photovoltaic devices.

14

In spite of improved survival rates, the grim fate of mostdiagnosed patients is to succumb to the disease or one of its
associated comorbidities. Improved survival rates over the last
several decades are, in part, the result of discovery of novelanti-cancer agents. The medical advancements underpinning
discovery of novel therapeutics and improvements in access tocare, and early detection were predicated on innumerable basic
and clinical research ﬁndings that have elucidated the innerworkings of cancer development and survival mechanisms.
Understood as a general principle, cancer arises through theaccumulation of genetic and epigenetic mutations andalterations that are favorable to the survival and expansion of
the tumor cells. This concept has been termed “multi-stepcarcinogenesis model” and has served as a reliable and accepted foundation for subsequent oncological research. Many of
the seminal studies underpinning the multi-step carcinogenesis
model were the research discoveries made by Drs. RobertWeinberg and Bert Vogelstein.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2020
Field of Electronics, Information, Communication

Field of Life Science

Pioneering contribution to
information and coding theory

Pioneering contributions to paleoanthropology
through decoding ancient human genome sequences

Prof. Robert G. Gallager

Dr. Svante Pääbo

USA Born in 1931

SwedenBorn in 1955

Professor Emeritus,

Director, Department of Evolutionary Genetics

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

From general communication devices such as TVs, personal
computers and mobile phones to cutting-edge researches
utilizing big-data, such as particle physics and astronomy, digital
information communication is one of the fundamental technologies that support today’s society. However, when performing
data communication, errors can occur due to external noise, andfor many years, a lot of research was conducted on developing
detection and correction schemes for such errors.
Among them, LDPC codes (Low-Density Parity-Check
Codes), invented by Prof. Robert G. Gallager, is an extremely
reliable and practical scheme.
Starting with its adoption in the ﬁfth-generation mobile
communication system (5G), LDPC codes are expected tosupport the coming generations of high-speed and large-capacity communications.

Where did we humans come from?
Elucidating “the origin and evolution of modern humans” is
one of the biggest challenges in paleoanthropology. Traditionally, the evolution and classiﬁcation of humans had been
approached by analyzing the shape of excavated bone andteeth fossils. However, from the mid-1980s, Dr. Svante Pääbo
adopted the “genetic approach”, which involves extracting andanalyzing DNA, and made series of discoveries that haveenabled us to understand modern human evolution at muchgreater depth.
In particular, the DNA analysis of Neanderthals revealed
that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with Neanderthals. Furthermore, the DNA from a fossilized bone fragment
excavated from the Denisova cave in Russia revealed theexistence of a previously unknown species of humans called
the Denisovans.
By analyzing the DNA of ancient humans, Dr. Pääbo has
shed new light on the fundamental question of where modern
humans came from.

15

2019
Field of Materials and Production

Field of Biological Production, Ecology

Leading contributions to precision synthesis ofhelical polymers and development ofpractical chiral materials for separating chiral drugs

Sustainable soil management for global food security
and mitigation of climate changeProf. Yoshio Okamoto

Prof. Rattan Lal

Japan

Born in 1941

USA

Born in 1944

University Professor of Nagoya University

Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science

Chair Professor of Harbin Engineering University China

Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center
The Ohio State University

Even among two molecules of the same chemical composition, some have a three-dimensional structure with a mirror
image that cannot be superimposed on to the other, as it is thecase with our left and right hand. Such molecules are said to bein an enantiomeric relationship. Among enantiomers, physicalproperties such as the melting point and boiling point are thesame, but their physiological eﬀects on the human body candiﬀer. This can cause major problems for the production ofpharmaceuticals.
Despite the above being the case, ordinary chemical synthesis can only produce enantiomer mixtures. Along with theadvancement of the technique for synthesizing only one handof the molecule with a catalyst, the convenient method forseparating the generated mixture has also come to be widelyused. This was made possible by helical polymers. When
one-handed helical polymer is coated onto silica gel, packed ina column and enantiomer mixture is injected through, theenantiomer that is more prone to being captured by the helicalpolymer remains in the column for a long period of time, andthe other enantiomer that is less prone to being captured ﬂows
out ﬁrst.
Prof. Yoshio Okamoto was the ﬁrst in the world to achieve
the synthesis of a one-handed helical polymer, and evendemonstrated its utility in the separation of enantiomers.
Today, products that have been derived from the applicationof these discoveries are being widely used throughout theworld for the research & development and the manufacturingof pharmaceuticals, aroma chemicals and functional materials.
Prof. Okamoto’s achievements that span the advancement ofbasic polymer synthesis science to its practical application arehighly regarded by the international community.

16

Soil is important not only for food production but also for awide range of functions in environmental conservation, such ascarbon sequestration, environmental cleanup, material circulation and preservation of biodiversity. Prof. Rattan Lal demonstrated in Africa’s sub-Saharan region that the “no-tillage
cultivation method” can ensure stable biological production
while preventing soil erosion, and has undertaken great eﬀorts
to spread this technique and promote the idea that a healthy soil
is the basis of sustainable agriculture and good environment.
While the soil is usually plowed in agriculture, the no-tillage
cultivation method which does away with plowing was adapted
and tested by Prof. Lal who had noticed the outﬂow mechanismof soil organic matter. Based on this ﬁnding, Prof. Lal began
studying the relationship between soil and global environmental
issues.
As a result of the analysis of the global carbon cycle, he foundout that with appropriate management, soil not only isolates
carbon and reduces CO2 in the atmosphere but also becomes
fertile, thereby improving food production.
And as a result of his continuous appeal to the international
community of the importance of appropriate soil management,
Prof. Lal’s ideas were formulated into the policy of internationaleﬀort for soil preservation called the “4 per 1000 Initiative”, andis closely tied to the promotion of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2018
Field of Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure

Field of Medical Science and Medicinal Science

Development of lithium ion batteries

Discovery of B and T lymphocyte lineages andits impact on understanding disease pathology
and therapeutic development (Joint Award)

Dr. Akira Yoshino

Dr. Max D. Cooper

Japan Born in 1948

USA Born in 1933

Australia Born in 1931

Honorary Fellow, Asahi Kasei Corporation

Professor,

Professor Emeritus, Walter andProfessor, Graduate School of Science andEmory University School of Medicine

Eliza Hall Institute ofTechnology, Meijo University

The lithium ion battery is a type of secondary battery
capable of charge/discharge that has become the backboneof today’s mobile society by powering smartphones andlaptop PCs. It is also being adopted in electric vehicles thatare becoming increasingly widespread, serving to reduce
emissions of environment-impacting substances. In the early
1980s, Dr. Yoshino put forth the concept of the lithium ion
battery and demonstrated its charge/discharge capability. At
the time, research on batteries using lithium metal anodes
was more predominant, with a strong focus on cathodematerials and non-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Dr. Yoshino
proposed and demonstrated a viable secondary battery using
lithium cobalt oxide for the cathode and a carbon-basedmaterial for the anode, which he combined with his original
separator and current collector technology. The resulting
battery attained high voltage, high energy density, safety anda long-life. Lithium ion batteries have since continued to
improve through constant reﬁnements in materials andmanufacturing methods, and their application is anticipatedto grow into the future.

Dr. Jacques Miller

Medical Research

Dr. Max D. Cooper and Dr. Jacques Miller discovered the“B and T lymphocytes” , the two primary cell lineages
involved in adaptive immunity that are responsible forprotecting our bodies from intrusion by foreign substances.
The B lymphocytes are responsible for the production of
antibodies that attack foreign substances such as invading
pathogens. T lymphocytes, on the other hand, are responsible
for attacking virus-infected cells and cancer cells, andassisting B lymphocytes in the production of antibodies. Using
mice, Dr. Miller discovered that T lymphocytes are producedby the thymus, which was considered a vestigial organ at thetime. Dr. Cooper, on the other hand, hypothesized that there
are two cell lineages with diﬀerent functions in adaptive
immunity and veriﬁed their existence through experiments onchickens. Their pioneering achievements laid the foundation
for the next half century of developments in immunology frombasic concepts to applied research. The development of new
therapeutic drugs for cancers and immune disorders, which
has been attracting much attention in recent years, would nothave been possible without Dr. Cooper and Dr. Miller’s
discoveries.

17

2017
Field of Electronics, Information and Communication

Field of Life Science

Contribution to information security
through pioneering research on cryptography

Elucidation of the genome editing mechanismby the CRISPR-Cas (Joint Award)

Dr. Adi ShamirIsrael Born in 1952

Prof. Emmanuelle
Charpentier

Dr. Jennifer A.
DoudnaProfessor,

France Born in 1968

USA Born in 1964

Weizmann Institute of Science

Director,

Professor,

Max Planck Institute

University of California, Berkeley

for Infection Biology (Berlin)

The advent of open digital networks, namely the Internet, hasenabled us to lead a convenient lifestyle like never before. Suchcomfort has been made possible thanks to security measures
preventing the theft and manipulation of valuable information. It
is Dr. Adi Shamir who proposed many of the underlying concepts
in information security and developed a series of practicalsolutions.
Information in digital networks is coded in binary digits. Utilizing mathematical methodology, Dr. Shamir has invented andproposed numerous techniques, such as the innovative “RSA
cryptosystem,” the “secret sharing scheme” which ensures secrecy by breaking up classiﬁed information into parts and dispersing
it among several participants, the “identiﬁcation scheme” withwhich individuals can be identiﬁed without revealing secret
information and the generic “diﬀerential cryptanalysis” which
deciphers many common key cryptosystems.
Dr. Shamir has also made a signiﬁcant breakthrough in the
research of side-channel attacks which decipher code bymonitoring the physical information of the computer carrying out
encryption, such as power consumption and noise.

18

Genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas system, announced
by Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr. Jennifer Doudna in
2012, is a revolutionary new technology in genetic engineering.
It was adopted at an explosive rate as a useful tool for researchin the life sciences. Today, it continues to be applied toresearch in a wide range of ﬁelds, such as breeding, drug development and medicine. This technology was developed in theprocess of elucidating the bacterial defense mechanism against
such threats as viral infections. Bacteria can remember the
DNA of intruding viruses by absorbing their DNA into theirown. Upon the next infection, bacteria recognize the intruder’s
DNA and snips it with the RNA-guided CAS protein, thereby
destroying intruding viruses. Genome editing by the CRISPR-Cas system takes advantage of this mechanism, andenables one to cut the DNA of any organism at arbitrary
locations to edit freely by means of removing, replacing or
insertion.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2016
Field of Materials and Production

Field of Biological Production and Biological Environment

Creation of unconventional inorganic
materials with novel electronic functions
based on nano-structure engineering

Contribution to modern crop breeding
through research on developmentof molecular genetic analysis

Dr. Hideo Hosono

Dr. Steven D. Tanksley

Japan

Born in 1953

USA

Born in 1954

Laboratory for Materials and Structures,

Professor Emeritus,

Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Cornell University

Director, Materials Research Center of Element Strategy

Discovery of new materials is a major driving force thattransforms industry and our society. Dr. Hideo Hosono endeavored to create new functional materials in areas where others
had not yet achieved success. For example, it was said that“transparent oxides” like glass are unsuitable as electrofunctional material because of their electrical nonconductivity, but
Dr. Hosono studied their nano-structure and developed the“transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor.” Today, it isextensively used in technologies such as liquid crystal displays(LCDs) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays,
contributing enormously towards our society.
Furthermore, he has developed a series of unconventional
inorganic materials with electronic functions. In the ﬁeld ofsuperconductivity research, he focused on iron compounds,
which nobody had been paying attention to, and achieved
high superconducting transition temperature. He also developed “electrically conductive cement” by modifying thenano-structure of what had been considered an archetypal
insulator material.

Since the beginning of agriculture, mankind has practiced
selective breeding in search of crops with enhanced traits. For
most of that time, the methods practiced relied on experienceand intuition. From the 1980s, however, rapid advancements ingenomic analysis techniques brought about signiﬁcant changes. The pioneering ﬁgure who continuously led this ﬁeld was
Dr. Steven Tanksley.
Dr. Tanksley created chromosomal maps of crops by molecular genetic analysis and went on to identify genes that are
related to agricultural productivity, such as fruit size, thereby
developing a genomic analysis technique that is instrumental
for selective breeding. His research, which combines genetic
information and breeding techniques, has contributed
enormously to increasing selection accuracy and reducing theamount of time required to breed new crop varieties.

19

2015
Field of Resources, Energy and Social Infrastructure

Field of Medical Science and Medicinal Science

Contribution to development of innovative concept
on river basin management and reductionof water-related disasters

Proposal of the concept of gene therapy andits clinical applications (Joint Award)

Dr. Yutaka TakahasiJapan(1927 - 2021)

Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo

We humans beneﬁt from rivers in our day-to-day lives, but
on occasion, suﬀer severe damage from bank collapse due toswelling river waters. Dr. Yutaka Takahasi has conducted ﬁeld
surveys and data analysis on post-war ﬂood disasters, such as
those caused by typhoons, and scientiﬁcally veriﬁed that transformations in river basins due to large-scale river improvements and developments from the Meiji Era onward havecontributed to the magniﬁcation of the scale of ﬂoods. In
addition, in order to reduce the scale of ﬂood damage, he hascontinued to propose “integrated ﬂood control measures,”which aim not only to make river improvements such as thebuilding of banks but also to achieve basin management
through regulating reservoirs and the maintenance of a soundwater cycle. Dr. Takahasi’s proposal has also been applied tomeasures against ﬂood disasters frequently occurring worldwide which have been attributed to global warming.

20

Dr. Theodore Friedmann
USA

Born in 1935

Professor of Pediatrics, University ofProf. Alain Fischer
FranceBorn in 1949

Professor at Collège de France,

California San Diego,

Director of Institute Imagine,

School of Medicine

Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades“Injecting genes or gene-transduced cells into a human bodyfor the purpose of treating diseases” is called gene therapy. In
the last few years, there has been a series of reports on convincing clinical eﬃcacy of gene therapy in patients suﬀering from
diﬃcult-to-treat diseases, such as congenital diseases andintractable neurological diseases. The origin of gene therapy
can be traced back about 40 years ago to 1972, when Dr. Theodore Friedmann published an article on the revolutionary therapeutic concept and research procedure in a scientiﬁc journal.
In the years following that event, many researchers carried out
fundamental research. Clinical studies started in 1990, but noconvincing clinical eﬃcacy could be established. After a periodof trial and error, in 1999, Prof. Alain Fischer successfully implemented a hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy on patientswith X-linked severe combined immunodeﬁciency disease withdramatic results, proving the eﬃcacy of gene therapy. The
vision of gene therapy as portrayed by Dr. Friedmann and theempirical study carried out by Prof. Fischer paved the way forthe present gene therapy.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2014
Field of Electronics, Information and Communication

Field of Life Science

Pioneering research on semiconductor lasers
for high-capacity,
long-distance optical ﬁber communication

Discovery of histone modiﬁcations as
fundamental regulators of gene expression

Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu

Dr. C. David AllisJapan

Born in 1932

USA

（1951 - 2023）

Honorary Professor,

Joy and Jack Fishman Professor,

Tokyo Institute of Technology

The Rockefeller University

Optical communication network using optical ﬁber is thepillar of present information society. Dr. Suematsu, Honorary
Professor of Tokyo Institute of Technology, has been undertaking the study of optical communication since the early 1960s,
the dawn of the optical electronics age. Dr. Suematsu was also
a forerunner in taking a “problem-solving approach” in research.
In this approach, levels of performance required by society are
projected ﬁrst, and theory and experiments are combined toachieve the goal. In the early 1980s, Dr. Suematsu gave shape
to his idea of dynamic single-mode laser, which emits light in the
wavelength range where the minimum loss is achieved and has
a stable wavelength even with high-speed light modulation
when transmitting information. His research on semiconductor
lasers has greatly contributed to the realization of a high-capacity, long-distance optical ﬁber communication.

A human body consists of approximately 60 trillion cells,
and most of them have the same genetic information in DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid). How can cells with the same DNA
develop into many diﬀerent types of cells to make up the diﬀerent organs in the body with diﬀerent forms and functions, suchas skin, liver and cranial nerves? A biochemist from the U.S.,
Dr. Allis, tackled this question and discovered from his researchin the 1990s that enzymes that chemically modify histones,
proteins found in chromosomes, play a vital role in the regulation of gene activity. His ﬁndings have greatly contributed tothe understanding of the generation mechanism in which anorganism grows from a fertilized egg, as well as to the development of drugs to treat cancer related to abnormalities inhistone modiﬁcations.

21

2013
Field of Materials and Production

Field of Biological Production and Biological Environment

Development of chemically ampliﬁed
resist polymer materials for innovative semiconductor
manufacturing process (Joint Award)

Contribution to marine environmental
conservation through research on ecology
and biodiversity of deep-sea organisms

Prof. C. Grant Willson
USA

Born in 1939

Prof. Jean M. J. Fréchet
USA

Born in 1944

Dr. John Frederick Grassle
USA （1939 - 2018）

Professor of ChemistryVice-President for Research

Professor Emeritus,

and Chemical Engineering

King Abdullah University of Science

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

The University of Texas at Austin

and Technology

The most important key technology which has been thedriving force for innovation in semiconductor technology overthe past half a century is lithography, which engraves ﬁne
circuits in semiconductors. Dr. Willson and Dr. Fréchet, alongwith the late Dr. Hiroshi Itoh, embarked on the development of
the resist to be used for lithography in the early 1980’s, andsucceeded in developing a new key technology known as achemically ampliﬁed resist. Through the use of resist developed jointly by the three doctors, a lithography using a shortwavelength deep ultraviolet (deep UV; wavelength 254nm)
was achieved. By improving this chemically ampliﬁed resist,an era of the next generation integrated circuit with a minimum
semiconductor circuit width of under 250nm was opened up.
The chemically ampliﬁed resist is an important technology forthe extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV; wavelength
1-10nm), a present leading edge technology, as well as forelectron lithography, and is a key technology in creating new
types of electronics.

22

It has been thought for many years that only a limited
number of living organisms exist in the deep sea exceeding adepth of 200m, due to the fact that hardly any sunlight,
needed for photosynthesis, reaches there. However, in 1977,
a hydrothermal vent called a black smoker was discovered at
the bottom of the Paciﬁc Ocean, and the existence of a wide
variety of organisms was recorded. Marine Biologist Dr.
Grassle organized an ecological survey mission using amanned research submersible, and clariﬁed the existence of achemosynthetic ecosystem in the deep ocean which utilizes
not sunlight, but chemical substances supplied from theearth’s interior.
Through his studies in the 1980’s and the 1990’s, Dr. Grassle
proved that an abundant biodiversity exists in the deep sea
comparable to that of the tropical rainforest. Furthermore, in
2000, a 10-year project which endeavors to shed light on thediversity, distribution and population of all marine life called“CoML: Census of Marine Life” was founded. The researchﬁndings thereof are greatly contributing to the preservation of
the marine ecosystem which has rapidly been lost since the20th Century.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2012
Field of Environment, Energy and Infrastructure

Field of Healthcare and Medical Technology

Developing the world’s highest performing
Nd-Fe-B type permanent magnet
and contributing to energy conservation

Development of a new therapeutic drug targetingcancer-speciﬁc molecules (Joint Award)

Dr. Janet D. Rowley
Dr. Masato Sagawa
Japan

Born in 1943

President, Intermetallics Co., Ltd.

USA

(1925 - 2013)

Blum-Riese Distinguished Service

Dr. Brian J. Druker
USA

Born in 1955

Professor and Director ofProfessor of Medicine, Molecular

OHSU Knight Cancer Institute,

Genetics & Cell Biology

Oregon Health & Science University

and Human Genetics,
The University of Chicago

One of the fundamental materials which support our highly
industrialized society is a permanent magnet. In order to
respond to the expectations for a stronger magnet, the
Sm-Co(samarium-cobalt) magnet was developed in the 1960’s.
However, because cobalt was a rare resource, the scope of its
application was limited. Amid such a climate, Dr. Sagawa
embarked on the challenge of achieving a permanent magnet
using iron, an abundant resource. Dr. Sagawa engaged inresearch and development of magnetic materials from acompletely diﬀerent perspective to the conventional. In 1982, hediscovered the Nd-Fe-B (neodymium-iron-boron) magnet thathas the world’s largest energy product which breaks the Sm-Co
magnet’s record in the maximum energy product, and achieved
the industrialization of this magnet. Motors which use neodymium magnets are compact, lightweight and highly eﬃcient. Thus,
they have greatly contributed to the solution of global environmental issues through power-saving industrial and household
electronic products as well as through the high eﬃciency of newenergy sources such as wind power generators.

Dr. Nicholas B. Lydon
USA

Born in 1957

Founder and Director,
Blueprint Medicines

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a disease which is
caused when a hematopoietic stem cell in the bone marrow
turns cancerous. In 2001, with the introduction of the molecularly targeted drug imatinib, treatment results dramatically
improved. The origin of imatinib began in 1973 when Dr.
Rowley discovered that chromosomes 9 and 22 were recombined in the white blood cells of patients with CML. Dr. Druker
and Dr. Lydon succeeded in developing a drug which
suppressed the activity of the BCR-ABL protein which occurs
as a result of the chromosomal recombination. At present,
molecularly targeted drugs are indispensable to the treatmentof cancer and autoimmune diseases, and the results obtained
from the studies of Dr. Rowley, Dr. Druker and Dr. Lydon
underscored the importance of developing molecularly targeted drugs, providing a guiding post for future research.

23

2011
Field of Information and Communications

Field of Bioscience and Medical Science

Development of the operating system,
UNIX (Joint Award)

Discovery of interleukin-6 and its applicationin treating diseases (Joint Award)

Dr. Dennis M. Ritchie
USA (1941 - 2011)
Distinguished Member ofDr. Ken L. Thompson
USA

Born in 1943

Distinguished Engineer, Google Inc.

Dr. Tadamitsu Kishimoto
Japan

Born in 1939

Emeritus Professor, Osaka University

Dr. Toshio Hirano
Japan

Born in 1947

Professor, Osaka University

Technical Staﬀ Emeritus,
Bell Labs

With present computer systems, basic software called
operating systems are used in addition to application software
to perform word processor, spreadsheet tasks, and so on. Dr.
Ritchie and Dr. Thompson developed an advanced operating
system called UNIX in 1969. The operating systems in thosedays were increasing in scale but becoming complex anddisorderly. With UNIX, stability and high-speed performance
could be attained by combining modularized programs.
UNIX’s superior design concept has been carried on by many
computer technicians, and has supported the development ofan advanced information society including the Internet.

24

Our bodies detect external invasions of bacteria and viruses
and eliminate them. This mechanism is called “immunity.”
Immunity is a complex system consisting of various cells suchas lymphocytes (T-cells, B-cells) and macrophage, but thesubstance which plays an important role in transmitting
information between cells is called interleukin. Dr. Kishimotoand Dr. Hirano have puriﬁed interleukin 6 (IL-6), which plays avital part in the production of antibodies, and also succeededin gene cloning in 1986. In addition, the two doctors haveidentiﬁed a wide range of functions of IL-6 and their research
results have contributed to the progress of bioscience and thedevelopment of therapeutic drugs for inﬂammatory diseases.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2010
Field of Industrial Production and Production Technology

Field of Biological Production and Environment

Contributions to high-density magnetic recording
technology by the development of a perpendicularmagnetic recording method

Contributions to solving global environmental
issues based on the analysis
of nitrogen and other substances’ cycles

Prof. Shun-ichi Iwasaki

Prof. Peter Vitousek

Japan

Born in 1926

Director, Tohoku Institute of Technology

USA

Born in 1949

Professor of Biology, Stanford University

Professor Emeritus, Tohoku University

LSI (large-scale integration) and the HDD (hard disk drive)
which records information have played major roles in the
progress of computer technology in the 20th century. It is not
an exaggeration to say that the miniaturization and theincreasing capacity of the HDD have created the informationsociety through the Internet. Furthermore, what is giving
behind-the-scenes support to the attainment of the next-generation system such as cloud computing is the ever-increasing
capacity of the HDD by means of the perpendicular magnetic
recording method. Prof. Iwasaki, through inspiration from theresearch of the magnetic recording principle, has developed
the perpendicular magnetic recording method, which is moreadvantageous in attaining higher capacity in comparison to theconventional horizontal magnetic recording method. Since headvocated this method to the world in 1977, he has continued
research and development for the practical application thereof.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human economic activities
have continued to expand, making the earth a relatively smaller place. Prof. Vitousek, an expert in ecosystems ecology, hasbeen studying the material cycle of such nutrient elements as
nitrogen and phosphorus in the ecosystem. Based on the
aforementioned research, Prof. Vitousek has made pioneeringachievements in the ﬁeld of “biogeochemistry,” which analyzes
how various factors inﬂuence the ecosystem. From his achievements, he has pointed out the serious eﬀects human activities
have on the global environment as well as potential solutions
for solving global environmental issues.

25

2009
Field of Transformation towards a Sustainable Society inHarmony with Nature

Field of Technological Integration of Medical Scienceand Engineering

Contribution towards a sustainable world as foundedin the 1972 Report titled ‘The Limits to Growth’Contribution to tomographic imaging
in nuclear medicine

Dr. Dennis L. Meadows

Dr. David E. Kuhl

USA

Born in 1942

USA

(1929 - 2017)

Professor Emeritus of Systems Policy,

Professor, Radiology,

University of New Hampshire

University of Michigan Medical School

President, Laboratory for Interactive Learning

For humanity, the Earth is both irreplaceable and ﬁnite. The
continued survival of humanity on Earth depends on its
success in creating a “sustainable society.” More than 30 years
ago, Dr. Meadows was at the center of a research group thatused scientiﬁc analysis to make this point. “The Limits toGrowth” shocked the world when ﬁrst published in 1972, andit continues even today to illuminate the way forward.

26

Today various types of diagnostic imaging systems including CT (computed tomography) are used on a daily basis in
hospitals and clinics all over the world. Dr. Kuhl, one of theworld pioneers in tomography, began experimenting in the late
1950s by taking cross-sectional images of the distribution ofradioisotopes in the body. He went on to develop SPECT(single photon emission computed tomography) in the late1960s and succeeded in producing the world’s ﬁrst tomographic images of the human body. In addition to having a profound
impact on the subsequent development of X-ray CT scanningand MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), Dr. Kuhl’s researchbrought about the realization of PET (positron emission tomography), which is proving to be invaluable in the early detectionof cancers.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates2008
Field of Information Communication Theory and Technology

Field of Medical Genomics and Genetics

Creation of network architecture andcommunication protocol for the Internet(Joint Award)

Establishment of medical genetics
and contributions to its development

Dr. Vinton G.Cerf
USA

Born in 1943

Dr. Robert E.Kahn
USA

Born in 1938

Dr. Victor A. McKusickUSA(1921 - 2008)

Vice President and Chief Internet

Chairman, CEO & President of

Evangelist, Google Inc.

Corporation for National Research

the McKusick- Nathans Institute ofInitiatives

Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University

The appearance of the Internet has pioneered the way forthe establishment of a network society that has completelytransformed the lifestyles of people around the world. Two men
in particular were instrumental in the creation of the concept
for the basic framework and the TCP/IP communication protocol which has made the Internet possible. These men are Dr.
Cerf and Dr. Kahn. Known as the “Fathers of the Internet,” Dr.
Cerf and Dr. Kahn continue to lead advances in information
communication.

University Professor of Medical Genetics,

With the completion of the human genome project, we havecome to understand almost all of the genetic information
contained in DNA, which is encoded in a series of letters.
However, we are still some way from fully identifying thoseparts which are related to the treatment of diseases. Dr. McKusick, has spent over half a century compiling related knowledge, and advocating the importance of the formulation of agenomic map for genetic disorders. Today, researchers andclinicians around the world are sharing the fruits of Dr. McKusick’s labors which have become indispensable to the world ofgenetic medicine.

27

2007
Field of Innovative Devices Inspired by Basic Research

Field of Science and Technology of Harmonious Co-Existence

The discovery of Giant Magneto-Resistance(GMR)
and its contribution to developmentof innovative spin-electronics devices (Joint Award)

Contribution to the conservationof tropical forest

Prof. Albert Fert
FranceBorn in 1938

University of Paris-South

Prof. Dr. Peter Grünberg
Germany （1939 - 2018）
The Research Center of

Dr. Peter Shaw Ashton
UK

Born in 1934

Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry

Solid State Physics

Computer hard discs, which store vast amounts of memory,
are improving year by year and at a faster rate than everbefore. Now, however, these memory storage discs are notlimited to computers, but are also being used in such electronic
appliances as mobile music devices and video cameras. The
reason behind the great increases in memory storage capacity
and the rapidly diversifying use of hard discs is the discovery of
Giant Magneto-Resistance (GMR), a groundbreaking technological innovation. The researchers responsible for this astonishing discovery are Prof. Fert and Prof. Dr. Grünberg.

28

In recent times, the destruction of tropical forests has been
progressing at an alarming rate. Tropical forests are a veritable
treasury of a diverse array of many forms of life, and it is
widely believed that the loss of this environment would have amajor impact on the ecosystem of the entire planet. Dr. Ashton
was awarded the 2007 Japan Prize in the category of “Scienceand Technology of Harmonious Co-Existence” for his extensive research into the phylogenetic systemization of ﬂora andecological studies in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, andthe contribution his ﬁndings have made to tropical conservation eﬀorts.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2006
Field of Global Change

Field of The Development of Novel Therapeutic Concepts and Technologies

For pioneeering research on atmospheric structure
and composition based on his satellite observation technology
and for promotion of international assessments of climate change.

The discovery of the statinsand their development

Sir John Houghton
UK （1931 ～ 2020）

Dr. Akira EndoJapan

Born in 1933

Honorary Scientist, Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction

Director, Biopharm Researchand Research and Formerly Chief Executive,

Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Meteorological Oﬃce, U.K.

Observations by weather satellites began in the 1970s.
When Sir John Houghton developed a new means for making
observations to measure the temperatures and composition of
the upper atmosphere based on his independent theory. This
opened the way to elucidating the three-dimensional temperature structure of, and distribution of micro-components such asozone in the atmosphere across the entire globe. Then heestablished the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction andResearch to pursue this research and to study international
climate change. He also has played a central role in compilingthe First, Second and Third Assessment Reports under the
auspices of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC).

In 1973 Dr. Endo isolated from penicillium a ground-breaking substance called ML-236B (currently known as compactin)that lowers blood cholesterol levels, and conﬁrmed that it wasalso eﬀective in humans. This discovery triggered world-wide
research into the compactin group and resulted in the birth ofseveral hypercholesteremia drugs from amongst that group.
These drugs, known collectively as statins, are presently usedby approximately thirty million people around the world andhelp to prevent cardiac disease and strokes and so on.

29

2005
Field of Information and Media Technology

Field of Cell Biology

Pioneering contributions to natural language
processing and intelligent image processing

Fundamental contribution in elucidating
the molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion(Joint Award)

Dr. Makoto Nagao
Japan （1936 - 2021）

Japan

Born in 1943

Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti
USA

Born in 1940

President, National Institute of Information

Director of RIKEN Center forDistinguished Professor,

and Communications Technology

Developmental Biology

The Burnham InstituteDr. Nagao has pioneered research in the ﬁelds of machinetranslation, natural language processing, and image processing,and has achieved extensive results that have had a signiﬁcant
impact on other researchers in this ﬁeld. Notably, he developed
a fully functional Japanese-to-English / English-to-Japanesetranslation system, and was the world’s ﬁrst advocate of example based translation in machine translation. In image processing, he was the ﬁrst to introduce feedback analysis mechanisms,
which had a dramatic impact on many later research activities.
He developed the world’s ﬁrst digital library prototype system
incorporating natural language processing and image processing
technologies, and has contributed to the new digital library era.
In addition to being a pioneer, Dr. Nagao has been a leader inthis ﬁeld as well, for example as a founder of the International
Association for Machine Translation and The Association for
Natural Language Processing.

30

Dr. Masatoshi Takeichi

Cell adhesion is fundamentally important in the constructionof tissues and organs. Dr. Takeichi and Dr. Ruoslahti pinpointed the essential core processes in the complex phenomena ofcell adhesion and succeeded in elucidating the mechanisms at
the molecular level. Their accomplishments are expected tofundamentally contribute to working out the etiology anddeveloping therapy of serious diseases such as malignant
tumors.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2004
Field of Chemical Technology for the Environment

Field of Food Production Based on Ecosystem Concepts

Pioneering work on photochemical catalysis
and its application for the environment(Joint Award)

Contributions to the understanding of shelfecosystems and their sustainable utilization

Dr. Keith J. Sainsbury
New ZealandBorn in 1951

Senior Principal Research Scientist,
Division of Marine Research,
Commonwealth Scientiﬁc
and Industrial Research Organization

Dr. Kenichi Honda
Japan(1925 - 2011)

Dr. Akira FujishimaJapan

Born in 1942

Professor Emeritus,

Chairman, Kanagawa Academy of

The University of Tokyo

Science and Technology

Dr. Honda and Dr. Fujishima found that irradiation of solar
light onto a single crystal titanium dioxide (TiO2) electroderesulted in the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen(The Honda-Fujishima eﬀect). Thus, they pioneered researchon artiﬁcial photosynthesis and production of hydrogen as aclean energy from water by using solar light. Furthermore, thedevelopment of the self-cleaning coatings of TiO2 on a variety
of surfaces is going to produce a new industry of photocatalysts, which signiﬁcantly contributes to environmental conservation. The contributions of these two scientists to “Chemical
Technology for the Environment” for the sustainable development of society are enormous.

Dr. Sainsbury greatly contributed to the establishment ofmarine bio-resource management strategies for sustainableﬁshery production based on his basic studies on population
dynamics including experimental ﬁshery management mainlyof demersal ﬁsh resources in the shelf ecosystem and consequently to the planning of the Australian marine policy. He
also contributed much to the development of a paradigm forsustainable utilization of ﬁshery resources in tropical andtemperate marine areas.

Field of Science and Technology for Conservation of Biodiversity

Observational, experimental and theoretical achievements
for the scientiﬁc understanding and conservation of biodiversity

Prof. John H. Lawton
UK

Born in 1943

Chief Executive,
Natural Environment Research Council

Prof. Lawton is a proliﬁc contributor to fundamental
research on the ecological aspect of biodiversity. He studied
various organisms, including birds, mammals, insects, andplants. He analyzed various species of these groups and theways in which they co-exist with other species. Based onconservation, biological observation and analysis, he also
contributed to the protection of bird species, actually serving
as a key person in environmental NGOs.

31

2003
Field of Science and Technology of Complexity

Field of Visualizing Techniques in Medicine

Creation of universal concepts in complex systems- chaos and fractals (Joint Award)

Discovery of the principle
for functional magnetic resonance imaging

Dr. Benoit B. Mandelbrot
USA(1924 - 2010)

Dr. James A. YorkeUSA

Born in 1941

Dr. Seiji Ogawa
Japan

Born in 1934

Sterling Professor of Mathematical

Distinguished University

Sciences, Mathematics Department,

Professor of Mathematics

for Brain Function Research,

Yale University

and Physics, InstituteHamano Life Science Research Foundation

IBM Fellow Emeritus,

for Physical Sciences

TJ Watson Research Center,

and Technology,

International Business

University of Maryland

Director, Ogawa Laboratories

Machines Corporation

The world we live in is so complex that it is an enormous
challenge to understand the fundamental nature of its
complexities. Nature is ﬁlled with complex geometrical shapes.
Dr. Mandelbrot discovered that “self-similarity”is the universal
property that underlies such complex shapes, and he coined
the expression “fractal.”
Many diﬀerent, variable complex patterns of behavior arefound in dynamic phenomena, Dr. Yorke found the universal
mechanism underlying such nonlinear dynamic phenomena
and summed it up using the term “chaos.”
The two concepts, chaos and fractals, have been established
as universal concepts underlying such phenomena. Dr.
Mandelbrot and Dr. Yorke utilized, respectively, the terms
fractal and chaos and elucidated their fundamental properties.
They have provided new frameworks for understanding
complex phenomena, and have deﬁned both their foundations
and their applications.

32

Dr. Ogawa discovered the principle upon which the ﬁeld offunctional and physiological imaging of the human body,particularly the human brain, is based. He searched for physiologically dependent signals in magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), and found BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal contrast in MR images of the brain, This work has
proved to be the fundamental basis of noninvasive functional
imaging methodology that is now widely used not only inmany biological and medical sciences, such as neurobiology,
psychology and neurology, but also in many ﬁelds of clinicalmedicine as diagnostic tools.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2002
Field of Computing and Computational Science and Engineering

Field of Developmental Biology

Advancement of civilization through invention,
implementation and deploymentof the world wide web

Pioneering work on mammalianembryonic development (Joint Award)

Dr. Timothy John Berners-Lee
UK

Born in 1955

Dr. Anne McLaren
UK(1927 - 2007)

Dr. Andrzej K. Tarkowski
Poland （1933 - 2016）

Senior Research Scientist,

Principal Research Associate,

Director of the Institute of Zoology,

Laboratory for Computer Science, M.I.T.

Wellcome Trust / CRC InstituteWarsaw University

Dr. Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web(www). Through his invention people were able to acquire
information and work together by combining their knowledge
in a web using hypertext documents through the Internet. He
implemented the ﬁrst www using HTML, Hypertext Markup
Language developed by himself. The www has made revolutionary change in information exchange and communication
among people, contributing to the globalization of informationand communication in the world. It has created new forms ofcommercial and industrial activities like E-commerce, internet
publications of newspapers and books, and more. The World
Wide Web has made a profound and farreaching contribution
not only to science and technology but also to the advancement of the civilization.

Drs. McLaren and Tarkowski pioneered the developmental
biology of mammals using a mouse as a model and establishedtechnologies to manipulate early embryos. Taking advantage
of chimeric embryos in particular, they demonstrated theenormous plasticity of early embryonic cells, and gave deep
insight into fundamental questions on mammalian embryonicdevelopment, such as how sexes diﬀerentiate, how genetic
information of sexually distinct parents diﬀerentially contributes to development, and how cells interact in developing
tissues. This work has proved fundamental as regards major
issues not only of current developmental biology which are ofincreasing importance, but also for the progress of basic
medical and veterinary sciences.

33

2001
Field of Science and Technology of Environment Conscious Materials

Field of Marine Biology

Discovery of environmentally benign
electrode materials for high energy density
rechargeable lithium batteries

Contribution to the development of biological /ﬁsheries oceanography and for conservationof ﬁshery resources and marine environment

Dr. John B. GoodenoughDr. Timothy R. Parsons

USA

34

(1922 - 2023)

CanadaBorn in 1932

Professor, University of Texas

Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia

Dr. Goodenouth recorded notable achievements in the ﬁeldof solid-state science and made a great contribution to fundamental science. His well-known studies are on magnetism andthe conductivity of transition metal compounds and on superionic conductors. Based on these research results and withprofound insights, he found electrode materials for high-performance lithium batteries and used these materials to develop
high-capacity portable rechargeable batteries. These batteries
are not only environmentally benign but also very eﬀective inthe reduction of carbon dioxide emission.

Through his research devoted to obtaining a holistic understanding of how pelagic organisms are interconnected in thetrophodynamic food-web of the sea, Dr. Parsons has made agreat contribution to the development of Biological Oceanography as determined today. His goal has been to present analternative method for the management of ﬁsheries, based on
measuring of dynamic relationships between ﬁsh and their
physical, chemical and biological environments.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

2000
Field of City Planning

Field of Host Defense

Establishment of an ecological city planning
process and proposal of a land use
evaluation system

Discovery of Immunoglobulin E andmechanisms of IgE-mediated allergic reactions

Prof. Ian L. McHarg

Dr. Kimishige IshizakaUSA(1920 - 2001)

Japan （1925 - 2018）

Professor Emeritus, Department of

President Emeritus, La Jolla InstituteLandscape Architecture and Regionalfor Allergy and Immunology

Planning, University of Pennsylvania.

Prof. McHarg introduced ecological ideas into city planning,visualized environmental ecosystems on overlay maps offactors such as physiography, hydrology, vegetation, andhistorical landmarks, and developed an innovative land use
evaluation system, clarifying the suitability of, and restrictions
on, land use. He is recognized as a founder of ecologicalplanning, because of his distinguished achievements in the
1960s - when disorderly urban developments dominated - inecological city planning, making the most of the abundantpotential capabilities of nature. His methodology has had great
inﬂuence upon city planning in an age when the global
environment is of the utmost concern.

Dr. Ishizaka was the ﬁrst to discover immunoglobulin E andto elucidate fundamental mechanisms of allergic reaction at
cellular and molecular levels. His work has profoundly
inﬂuenced other medical research areas and even contributed
to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases.

35

1999
Field of Information Technologies

Field of Molecular Recognition and Dynamics in Bioscience

Establishment of coding theory
for reliable digital communication, broadcastingand storage

Elucidation of the three-dimensional structuresof class I and class II human histocompatibility antigens
and their bound peptides (Joint Award)

Dr. W. Wesley Peterson
USA(1924 - 2009)

Dr. Jack L. Strominger
USA

Born in 1925

Dr. Don C. Wiley
USA(1944 - 2001)

Professor of Information and Computer Sciences,

Higgins Professor of Biochmistry,

John L. Loeb Professor of

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Harvard University.

Biochemistry and Biophysics,
Harvard University.

Dr. Peterson authored Error-Correcting Codes, the “bible”
for the coding theory, and established the fundamentals of thisﬁeld. He created the conceptual framework of coding theory
on the basis of modern algebra and invented practical implementation methods for error detection and correction. This led
to an exceptionally important contribution in the industrial
application of error-correcting codes. Current digital communication, broadcasting and storage systems owe their reliability
to his research results.

36

Dr. Strominger and Dr. Wiley were the ﬁrst to elucidate thethree-dimensional structures of the human histocompatibility
complex class I and class II molecules. Their work provided a
detailed understanding of how peptides derived from processed
foreign antigens and self proteins are presented to T lymphocytes for the initiation of an immune response. Their work also
opened a wide vista for investigation of autoimmunity,transplantation rejection, tumor immunity and the response toforeign pathogens.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1998
Field of Generation and
Design of New Materials Creating Novel Functions

Field of Biotechnology in Agricultural Sciences

For the creation and realization of the conceptof man-made superlattice crystals which lead to generationof new materials with useful applications

Establishment of the theory and methodof the production of transgenic plants(Joint Award)

Dr. Leo Esaki
Japan

Born in 1925

Former President, University of Tsukuba

Prof. Dr. Jozef S. Schell
Belgium(1935 - 2003)

Dr. Marc C.E. Van Montagu
Belgium

Born in 1933

Director, Department of Genetic

Professor, Department of Genetics,

Principles of Plant Breeding,

University of Ghent, Belguim.

Max-Planck-Institute fürZüechtungsforschung, Germany

Dr. Esaki proposed the concept of “semiconductor superlattice,” realized it, and discovered its peculiar properties such as
negative diﬀerential conductivity and resonant tunneling. His
concept of the superlattice inspired many other scientists. It
underlies the high-speed transistor HEMT, optical devices withmultiple-quantum wells, and giant magneto-resistance. “Superlattice” was a great accomplishment in terms of the generationand design of new materials to create novel functions. (Dr.
Esaki was awarded with a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 forhis discovery of tunneling in semiconductor p-n junctions.
Superlattice is another great accomplishment he has made.)

Dr. Schell and Dr. Van Montagu showed that the formation oftumors in plants with Agrobacterium is attributable to insertionof some genes contained in the bacteria into the nuclear
genomes of host plants. They utilized this system to develop
methods for eﬃcient transfer of foreign genes into plant
genomes. Recent advances in the production of transgenic
plants have been based on their work.

37

1997
Field of Systems Engineering for an Artifactual Environment

Field of Biotechnology in Medicine

Establishment of the robot industry andcreation of a techno-global paradigm (Joint Award)

Contribution to establishment offundamental concept on causes of cancer(Joint Award)

Dr. Joseph F. Engelberger
USA(1925 - 2015)

Dr. Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

Dr. Takashi Sugimura

Japan Born in 1933

Japan Born in（1926 - 2020）

Chairman and Director,

Former President,

President Emeritus of

HelpMate Robotics Inc.

The University of Tokyo

National Cancer Center andand Molecular Biology,

President of Toho University

University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Engelberger foresaw from the beginning that machines
called robots would markedly improve productivity and was a
key person in their development and introduction for practical
purposes. He has greatly contributed to the long-term expansion and development of the world economy by innovatively
improving productivity in the manufacturing industry.
Dr. Yoshikawa has shown that the professional disciplines
associated with the production of artifacts have been too
specialized with respect to the system of knowledge, which has
made the solving of such problems as environmental destruction and depletion of resources diﬃcult.
He has played a leading role in research in systematizing
knowledge related to design and manufacturing and has developed a new ﬁeld called general design theory. Based on thisconcept, he has proposed artifactual engineering in order tosolve the above problems.

38

Dr. Bruce N. Ames
USA

Born in 1928

Professor of BiochemistryAs early as 1957, Dr. Sugimura discovered the carcinogenicity of a mutagen, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide. In 1967, he successfully induced stomach cancer in rats by oral administration ofa mutagen, N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. He subsequently established the fact that many carcinogens were mutagens. He successfully isolated and identiﬁed many carcinogens
with a structure of heterocyclic amine from foods cooked
under ordinary conditions. He further developed his studies toanalyze multiple step carcinogenesis at molecular levels. He
demonstrated that many environmental carcinogens could be
identiﬁed by their mutagenicity. He has made crucial contributions to the establishment of the fundamental concept on
causes of cancer.
Dr. Ames ﬁrst established an eﬃcient in vitro assay for mutagens using Salmonella in 1971. This “Ames test” has been usedwidely in research institutes, industries and regulatory agencies
around the world for screening environmental carcinogens andmutagens. This test has also been used to study metabolisms ofcarcinogens and mutagens. He established the fact that many
carcinogens were mutagens. He made further contributions tothe understanding of endogenous oxygenradicals in carcinogenesis and to the understanding of the mechanisms involvedin aging. He demonstrated the close relationship between
mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. He has made crucial contributions to the establishment of the fundamental concept ofcauses of cancer.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1996
Field of Information, Computer and Communication Systems

Field of Neuroscience

For pioneering research on wide-band,
low-loss optical ﬁber communications

Elucidation of the functional principles
and neural mechanisms of the cerebellum

Dr. Charles K. Kao

Dr. Masao Ito

USA （1933 - 2018）

Japan （1928 - 2018）

Vice-Chancellor and President,

Director-General, Frontier Research Program,

The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Institute of Physical and Chemical ResearchPresident, Science Council of JapanThe research on optical communications, which is expected
to bring forth extensive social innovation, substantially started
in 1960 with the invention of the laser, followed by studies onlight source, transmission line and photodetectors. Dr. Kao
predicted in speciﬁc terms the possibility of realizing large
capacity optical communications using optical ﬁber, at an
earlier phase, based on his own reasoning for the applicabilityof optical ﬁber to the large capacity transmission, and estimation of possible transmission range on the basis of presupposed
loss and tolerable photoelectric power level. He played
pioneering and leading roles in the exploitation of optical ﬁber
transmission lines and his works are clearly appreciated in theworld as having exerted a signiﬁcant impact on the subsequentdevelopment of optical communication technology.

Dr. Ito has tried over 40 years to elucidate neural mechanisms of the brain by using a combination of neurophysiological, cell-biological, system-theoretical, and molecular biological approaches. In particular, he succesfully revealed several
basic features of cerebellar function, such as inhibitory outputof the Purkinje cells which is mediated γ-aminobutyric acid.
He also found that the ﬂocculus of the cerebellum plays a keyrole in adaptive control of the vestibule-ocular reﬂex, a basic
reﬂex circuit, by way of a synaptic plasticity, the long-term
depression, which is the basic of the learning capability of
cerebellar cortical neural circuits. Furthermore, he and his
collaborators elucidated molecular processes underlying
long-term depression. They succeeded in inducing a reversible
learning deﬁcit by temporally inactivating long-term depression. The recent model he proposed aims at explaining acertain category of mental function, implicit memory, asfunction of the newest part of the cerebellum. His success gavea great impetus to researches in the neuroscience discipline.

39

1995
Field of Materials Processing Technologies

Outstanding contributions to research and practicalapplications of light emitting diodes and lasers throughpioneering achievements in the understanding ofphysical principles and in the process technology ofintermetallic compound semiconductors

Pioneer contributions in the development ofintegrated pest management by the sterile insect
release method and other biological approaches

Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr.

Dr. Edward F. Knipling

USA （1928 - 2022）

40

Field of Science and Technology for Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishery which conserves the Environment

USA(1909 - 2000)

Professor, Center for Advanced Study,

Retired Director,

John Bardeen Chair Professor, University of Illinois

Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Research Service

Dr. Holonyak, focused his research on intermetallic compound
semiconductors, which led him to the invention of the ﬁrst practical light emitting diode (LED) by the use of GaAsP crystals. In
1962, he made the ﬁrst visible light semiconductor laser.
He extended his research to develop ternary and quaternarycompound semiconductors, and was the ﬁrst to succeed in
independent control of the energy gap and lattice constant for
preparing devices.
He was the ﬁrst (1978) to achieve continuous room temperature operation of a laser with quantum-well-structure.
Dr. Holonyak’s achievements ranging from research to practical developments on light-emitting diodes and lasers gave
continuous stimulus and remarkable enrichment both to physics
and technology.

Dr. Knipling has devoted himself to the research on insect
pest as a agricultural entomologist since 1931. He proposed thetruly original idea of environmentally friendly pest control bysuppressing the insect population in agricultural crops anddomestic animals. Accordingly, he made outstanding contributions to the improvement of food production. He developed a
new concept of insect pest control known as the sterile insect
release method. In 1931 he attained great success in eradicating the screwworm ﬂy, a serious and sometimes fatal pest of
livestock in the Southwest region of the United States. From
1953, he made important contributions to the development ofan environmentally sound method of insect pest control. He
proposed and played a key role in promoting Integrated Pest
Management. He played a leading role in scientiﬁc researchand in application of his ﬁndings in terms of pest control
without harming the environment.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1994
Field of Aerospace Technologies

Field of Psychology and Psychiatry

Inspirational leadership in unmanned lunar andplanetary exploration, and for pioneeringachievements in the development of spacecraft
and deep space communications

Discovery of dopamine as a neurotransmitterand clariﬁcation of its role in mental and motor
functions and their disorders

Dr. William Hayward Pickering

Dr. Arvid Carlsson

USA(1910 - 2004)

Sweden （1923 - 2018）

Professor Emeritus of the California Institute of Technology

Professor Emeritus, Gothenburg University

Dr. Pickering, as a Director of the JPL, the California Instituteof Technology, had made many pioneering contributions tospace technologies such as the development of spacecraft as ameans for space exploration, and the development of deep
space communications network for data acquisition for 32
years. Owing to his command and guidance technologies, theUSA’s ﬁrst artiﬁcial satellite “Explorer 1” was launched in 1958.
And “Pioneer 4”, the design of which was led by him, succeeded
in becoming the ﬁrst U.S. man made object to escape from the
Earth’s gravitational ﬁeld in 1959. He developed newtechnologies for digital communications and high deﬁnition
television. His achievements have made signiﬁcant contributions
to the “expansion of mankind’s active domain to outer space”.
His technologies have been applied in many ﬁelds and havecontributed to the welfare of mankind.

Dr. Carlsson has made substantial contributions towards theclariﬁcation of the functions of dopamine in the brain. This has
promoted causal treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In 1988, he
presented a modiﬁed hypothesis on schizophrenia. This showeda direction to understand schizophrenia as a putativetransmitter imbalance syndrome and opened up new
therapeutic strategies for Parkinson’s disease. He has been aninternational leader in the ﬁeld of neuropsychophamacology forthree decades. His original and unique discoveries in dopamine
research have led to a new understanding and new eﬀective
treatments for Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. He has
made a great contribution to the development of psychology
and psychiatry from the ﬁeld of neuropsychopharmacology.

41

1993
Field of Safety Engineering and Disaster Mitigation

Field of Molecular and Cellular Technology in Medicine

Development of modern seismology
and advancement of international
cooperation in disaster science

Development of the polymerase
chain reaction

Dr. Frank Press

Dr. Kary B. Mullis

USA （1924 - 2020）

USA （1994 - 2019）

President of U.S. National Academy of Sciences

Founder and Vice President Research,
Atomic Tags, Inc.

Dr. Press was the ﬁrst to propose that the dispersion of long
period eathquake surface wave motion could be used as a tool
for studying the structure of the earth’s crust and upper mantle.
Analyzing surfaces waves, Dr. Press veriﬁed that the occurrence of an earthquake is fault motion itself. It was the beginning of modern seismology and the forerunner for studies on
earthquake mechanisms.
Dr. Press was the leader in the promotion of scientiﬁc
reseach and development in the area of disaster mitigation. As
demonstrated by his eﬀorts for International Geophysical Year
(IGY) and Worldwide Standardized Seismograph Network(WWSSN), he recognized the importance of international
cooperation in disaster sciences. He conceived and has been aleader in promoting the International Decade for Natural
Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), a UN program in which theinternational community, under the auspices of the UN, will
pay special attention during the last decade of the century tofostering international disaster (such as earthquakes, ﬂoods,
droughts, volcanos, landslides, windstorms and wildﬁres)
reduction.

42

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which was devised by
Dr. Mullis, has revolutionized molecular genetics, molecularbiology, medicine and many other related scientiﬁc ﬁelds. The
PCR is a way of amplifying speciﬁc DNA sequences from small
amounts of a complex template. Thus, in medicine the PCR has
had a major impact on the diagnosis and screening of genetic
diseases and cancer, the rapid detection of fatidious or slow
growing microorganisms and viruses, the detection of minimal
residual disease in leukemia. The method has also been
applied to studies on molecular evolution. Analysis of DNAs
from diﬀerent human populations allowed the construction ofphylogenetic trees. Samples of historic or ancient DNA fromextinct species have successfully been subjected to PCR ampliﬁcation. This capability of analyzing minute quantities ofdegraded DNA makes it possible to apply PCR for forensic
purposes.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1992
Field of Science and Technology of Material Interfaces

Field of Science and Technology for Biological Production

Contributions to the new development of
the chemistry and physics of solid surfaces

Discovery of method of the cryopreservationof semen and embryos in farm animals

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl

Prof. Ernest John Christopher Polge

Germany

Born in 1936

UK

(1926 - 2006)

Director of Fritz-Haber Institute of Max Planck Society,

The Scientiﬁc Director

Honorary Professor at the Free University Berlinof Animal Biotechnology Cambridge Ltd.

and at the Technical University Berlin

Since the 1960s, Professor Ertl has developed extensive
studies on the chemisorption phenomena of atoms or
molecules of representative chemicals on metal surfaces, andhas explained a number of important phenomena such asphase transitions in chemisorbed layers and the surface reconstruction induced by adsorption.
He has also pioneered and developed the study of the
dynamical aspects of chemical processes on metal surfaces inatomic and molecular level.
By a series of outstanding scientiﬁc achievements in thisarea, he has opened up a new area of surface science, andmade invaluable contributions to the development of thisimportant and new research area in science and technology ofmaterial interfaces.

Prof. Polge developed a new method for preservation of
spermatozoa whereby bull semen in glycerol-containing media
with-stood freezing at a very low temperature (-79̊C). This has
promoted the growth of what has become a new science ofcryobiology with practical applications in various spheres inmedicine and agriculture. There is no doubt that the largest
application has been in the deepfreezing of semen for artiﬁcial
insemination, particularly in cattle; in which the impact on
breeding and livestock improvement has been great. The
development of techniques for the preservation of embryos at
low temperatures is now being applied in a number of farmanimal species.

43

1991
Field of Applied Mathematics

Field of Imaging Techniques in Medicine

Contributions to analysis and control of
distributed systems,
and to promotion of applied analysis

Development of ultrasound imaging
in medicine

Dr. Jacques-Louis LionsDr. John Julian Wild

France(1928 - 2001)

USA(1914 - 2009)

The Chairman of Analysis andM.D., Ph.D., FAIUM, Head,

Systems Control at the Collège de France

Physicomedical Institute, Minneapolis

and the President of National Center of Space Studies

Dr. Lions led the world to establish the new ﬁeld of appliedmathematics which makes good use of expertise inherited
inside the traditional discipline of analysis and which can fully
beneﬁt from the powerful functions of modern computers.
His research and achievements have covered exceedingly
wide areas, including establishment and development of thecontrol theory of distributed systems which are governed bypartial diﬀerential equations.
The method is expected to be the most promising among
existing mathematical approaches to global and environmental
problems.
As for applications in industry, Dr. Lions made considerable
contributions to computational aerodynamics for theaerospace industry, simulation for the petroleum industry andmathematical analysis for the French Energy Agency.

44

In 1949, Dr. Wild manufactured prototype equipment for
A-mode ultrasonography and with this equipment, he succeeded in measuring the thickness of the human colon. This was theﬁrst attempt to use ultrasound for biomedical application.
Subsequently, he developed a two-dimensional ultrasoundimage employing B-mode equipment, for which he has been
also recognized as being the ﬁrst pioneer of medical ultrasonicimaging. The method today is widely used on a variety ofoccasions including detection and diagnosis of brain tumors
and breast cancer. In particular, the breast imaging by thisequipment brought about the successful imaging of a tiny 7mm
diameter nipple cancer.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates1990
Field of Technology of Integration- Design,
Production and Control Technologies

Field of Earth Science

Establishment of an academic ﬁeld named
Artiﬁcial Intelligence and the proposal offundamental theories in that ﬁeld

Initiation of the theory of plate tectonics and contributions
to its development (Joint Award)

Dr. Marvin Minsky
USA(1927 - 2016)

Professor of Electrical Engineering, MIT

Dr. William Jason
MorganUSA （1935 - 2023）

Dr. Dan Peter
McKenzie

Dr. Xavier Le
PichonUK

FranceBorn in 1942

Professor

Professor

at Princeton University

at Cambridge University

Born in 1937

Directeur duDépartment de Géologie,
Ecole Normale Supérieure

Dr. Minsky published his paper “Steps Toward
Artiﬁcial Intelligence” in 1961 and this gave
Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI) world wide exposure andhas earned Dr. Minsky the title of “Father of AI”.
Artiﬁcial Intelligence became increasingly complex
by the 1970s, involving vast amounts of knowledge
and the need to use specially appropriate pieces ofknowledge at particular times. Dr. Minsky proposeda theory of frames for the eﬀective representation
and utilization of knowledge in computers. In the
1980s, AI has produced many more practical application systems and many researchers have turned
toward the question of how to make machineslearn more by themselves. In addition to the development of the theory and practical application
systems, he emphasized the necessity of study on
the human mind including emotion and self
consciousness. In his book “Society of Mind,” heproposed a model of the human mind which
consists of many small agents (computers) working
together by communicating with each other. His
proposal is expected to further expand the AI
technology to other ﬁelds of science and help
promote AI applications.

Dr. Morgan began his revolutionary work by dividing Earth’s outer shell
into some 20 plates, analyzing their movements as rigid, rotating segmentsof the shell, and measuring absolute velocities of plate motion. Mid-oceanic ridges, subduction zones and transform faults all came to beinterpreted as results of the movements of these plates. The great signiﬁcance of Dr. Morgan’s theory became widely recognized and his work
subsequently triggered numerous studies in a variety of ﬁelds.
Dr. Mckenzie has analyzed earthquake systems in the circum-Paciﬁcregion and has demonstrated independently that the ﬂoor of the Paciﬁc
Ocean moves as a single plate, rotating against North America and East
Asia. In collaboration with Dr. Morgan, Dr. Mckenzie has also carried out
a geometrical analysis of triple junctions where three plates meet. This
work has contributed greatly to understanding the relative motion ofplates and the energetics of plate movements. He has also proposed thehighly original model that large sedimentary basins, important in theformation of oil and natural gas deposits, are formed by thinning of thecrust due to plate motion.
Dr. Le Pichon, inspired by the work of Dr. Morgan has independently
determined plate movements over the entire surface of Earth, using ocean
ﬂoor spreading velocities estimated from paleomagnetic patterns and the
directions of transform faults. He has also published a book on plate
tectonics which has had a great inﬂuence on Earth scientists throughout
the world, and has played a major role in seaﬂoor investigation at plateboundaries. Through these works, he has contributed greatly to the understanding of the geological nature of plate boundaries under the ocean.

45

1989
Field of Environmental Science and Technology

Field of Medicinal Science

Studies on the mechanisms of stratosphericozone depletion by chloroﬂuorocarbons

Pioneering contributions to the synthesesof prostaglandins and their related compounds
which are of great therapeutic value

Dr. Frank Sherwood Rowland

Dr. Elias James Corey

USA

46

(1927 - 2012)

USA

Born in 1928

Professor at University of California, Irvine

Professor at Harvard University

In 1974, Dr. Rowland, who studied physical chemistry, wasthe world’s ﬁrst scientist to point out the mechanisms by whichchloroﬂuorocarbons could destroy the ozone layer which
protects life on earth from harmful ultraviolet solar radiation.
He also predicted that if emission of chloroﬂuorocarbons
continues at its current rate, it would eventually result in a
7-13% loss of the total ozone.
Dr. Rowland’s theoretical insights and predictions have been
veriﬁed by scientists throughout the world, and have donemuch to strengthen international eﬀorts for the preservation ofstratospheric ozone.

Dr. Corey’s study covered almost all ﬁelds of organic chemistry. He became the ﬁrst researcher to synthesize pure prostaglandins in natural, optically active form. This allowed thelarge scale production of all natural prostaglandins to provide
a stable supply for other researchers, thus contributing considerably to the development of biochemistry and medicine.
His synthesis had three major advantages over other methods in terms of eﬃciency, versatility, and economy.
Dr. Corey’s achievement in the synthesis of eicosanoids is amonumental work in modern medicinal science. It is broadly
expected that this synthesis will facilitate development of
medicines for such diseases as cerebral thromboisis, arteriosclerosis and gastric and intestinal ulcers.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates1988
Field of Energy Technology

Field of Preventative Medicine

Establishment of fast breeder reactor
technology

Discovery of the AIDS causing virus and development
of diagnostic methods (Joint Award)

Dr. Georges Vendryes

Dr. Luc MontagnierFrance(1920 - 2014)

Scientiﬁc advisor to the president of theFrance(1932 - 2022)

Chief, Department of Virus Tumours, Pasteur InstituteCommissariat à I'Energie Atomique

Following his contribution to the establishment of the fundamentals of nuclear power design and the promotion of fast
breeder reactor development, Dr. Vendryes’ work led to thesuccessful completion of “Super Phoenix,” the world’s ﬁrst
large-scale test breeder, establishing practical technologies fora solution to mankind’s energy problem in the future.

Leading the joint research staﬀ at the Pasteur Institute in
1983, Dr. Montagnier became the ﬁrst researcher in the world
to discover HIV, the pathogen behind AIDS, thus launching thestart of genuine HIV research. He has also developed practical
blood serum diagnostic methods for the establishment of basic
preventative countermeasures.

Dr. Robert C. Gallo
USA

Born in 1937

Chief, Laboratory of Tumour Cell Biology, National Institute of Health

Leading his own independent research group, Dr. Galloestablished a method of culturing human T cells and succeeded in isolating the HIV virus, making a major contribution to
analysis of its relationship with AIDS. He is also a pioneer inthe research and development of AZT, the most eﬀective AIDS
treatment thus far, as well as in the eﬀort to manifest a virus
gene and realized and AIDS vaccine.

47

1988
Field of Preventative Medicine

The eradication of smallpox (Joint Award)

Dr. Donald A. Henderson
USA （1928 - 2016）

Dr. Isao Arita

Dr. Frank Fenner

Japan

Australia(1926 - 2023)(1914 - 2010)

Dean, Johns Hopkins University,

Director,

Professor Emeritus,

School of Hygiene and Public HealthKumamoto National Hospital

Visiting Fellow, The John Curtin School of
Medical Research,
The Australian National University

As the ﬁrst chief medical oﬃcer ofthe WHO World Smallpox Eradication Oﬃce, Dr. Henderson dedicatedhis eﬀorts to the development of groupvaccination programs and contributed
to its historic auccess through theworldwide eradication of smallpox.

48

As the second chief medical oﬃcer ofthe WHO World Smallpox EradicationOﬃce, Dr. Arita established basic disease
control knowledge and performed epidemiological analysis as well as surveys andresearch into vaccine quality improvement.

Dr. Fenner, as the chairman of the
WHO Smallpox Eradication Surveillance Committee, supervised implementation of the global smallpox eradication program and his consistent eﬀorts
greatly contributed to its success.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1987
Field of Electro-Optics

Realization of the world’s ﬁrst laser

Dr. Theodore H. Maiman
USA(1927 - 2007)

Field of Improvement of Biological Functions

Development of the IR8 and IR36 strains
for rice breeding strategies geared to thetropical and subtropical zones (Joint Award)

Dr. Henry M. BeachellUSA(1906 - 2006)

Dr. Gurdev S. Khush
India

Born In 1935

Former chief of research at Hughes

Former head of the Plant Breeding

Head of the Plant Breeding

Research Laboratories

Department at the International Rice

Department at the International

President of Maiman Associates Inc.

Research Institute

Rice Research Institute

Advisor to the Farms of Texas Company

This pioneer in electro-optics became in 1960 the ﬁrst scientist to succeed in generating radiation with a ruby laser, greatly
aiding subsequent research on lasers. Dr. Maiman has also
made a major contribution towards the advancement of theﬁelds of natural science and engineering technology.

Dr. Beachell has taken part in the IRRI’s rice strain improvement projects since the institute’s establishment. In 1966 hedeveloped the IR8 strain that helped pave the way for the“green revolution” in developing nations.
Carrying on the work begun by Dr. Beachell, Dr. Khushfurther improved IR8 and in 1976 developed IR36, a strain
highly tolerant of poor environmental conditions. IR36 contributed immensely to the attainment of production stability andself-suﬃciency in rice in tropical and subtropical countries.

49

1986
Field of Materials Science and Technology

Field of Medical Technology

Pioneering contributions to materials
science with impact on new materials
technology such as amorphous solids

Research and development of artiﬁcial
organs and their relevant technology

Dr. David Turnbull

Dr. Willem J. Kolﬀ

USA

(1915 - 2007)

Professor at Harvard University

USA (1911 - 2009)
Professor at the University of Utah.
Head of the Institute for Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Turnbull, who formulated the guiding principles of newmaterials development, predicted what kinds of alloys will, likeglass, tend to assume an amorphous character with an irregularalignment of atoms in rapid cooling from a molten state. In
addition, this prominent scientist cleared the way for the
production of high-density ceramics and perfect crystals foruse in ICs.

50

As father of artiﬁcial organ technology, Dr. Kolﬀ achieved
clinical success in the development of a rotating drum-type
kindney device in 1943. He then continued to work to popularize disposable-type artiﬁcial kidneys while playing a leadingrole in the development of artiﬁcial lungs and hearts.

Profiles of Japan Prize Laureates

1985
Field of Information and Communications

Field of Biotechnology

Outstanding achievementin the ﬁeld of electronics
and communications technologies

Outstanding achievement in basic theory
in the ﬁeld of immobilized enzymes
and their practical applications

Dr. John R. Pierce

Dr. Ephraim Katchalski-Katzir

USA(1910 - 2002)

Professor Emeritus at Stanford University

Israel(1916 - 2009)

Professor at Tel Aviv University
and at Weiz-mann Institute of Science.

Dr. Pierce’s achievements in the ﬁeld of information andtelecommunication engineering represent the highest scientiﬁccaliber in the United States. His work has resulted in thetheoretical development of the possibilities of communications
satellites and of broad-band digital transmissions via pulse
code modulations and multivalent signals.

Dr. Katzir, the fourth President of the State of Israel from 1973
to 1978, is credited with the invention and development of thebioanalyzer and bioreactor, two devices employing immobilized
enzymes and cells which form part of the foundation of
biotechnology.

51

Donating to our Foundation
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The money will go towards expanding our activities.
If you wish to make a donation or have any queries, pleasecontact our oﬃce.
Our foundation is a certiﬁed Public Interest Incorporated
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donation to our foundation will be given preferential tax
treatment according to the tax laws.

52

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