JAPAN PRIZE NEWSTHE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
FOUNDATION OF JAPAN (JSTF)

No. 18JUNE 1997

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Four American and Japanese Scientists
Awarded 1997 Japan Prizes
Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress Attend the Presentation Ceremony

The presentation ceremony for the 1997 (13th) Japan Prize took
place on April 25 at the National Theatre in Tokyo . Thi s year's
fo ur laureates were Dr. Takashi Sugimura (7 1), President E meritusof Nati onal Cancer Center and President of Toho University andDr. Bruce N. Ames (68), Professor of Biochem istry and Molecular
Biology, University of California, Berkeley, the joint wi nners inthe category of "Biotechnology in Medicine"; and Dr. Joseph F.
Engelberger (7 1), Chairman and Director of HelpMate Robotics

Dr. Takashi Sugimura

Dr. Bruce N. Ames

Inc., and Dr. Hi roy uki Yoshikawa (68) , Former President of The
University of Tokyo, the joint wi nners in the category of "SystemsEngineering for an Artifactual Environment. "Japan Prize is presented annually by The Science andTechnology Fou ndation of Japan (JSTF) to scientists andresearchers who have made substantial contributions to theadvancement of science and technology as well as to the peace andprosperity of humankind.

Dr. Joseph F. Engelberger

Dr. Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

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Presentation Ceremony

The laureates, honored by Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress
Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress attended the presentation
ceremony as did some 900 prominent guests, including H. E. SouichiroIto, Speaker of the House of Representatives, H. E. Juro Saito, Presidentof the House of Councillors, H. E. Toru Miyoshi, Chief Justice of theSupreme Court, and H. E. Takashi Kosugi, Minister of Education;
numerous ambassadors to Japan; eminent scholars and researchers;
representatives from policy, finance, and industry sectors ofgovernment; and the media.
The ceremony began with a rendition of Overture Japan performedby the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Prof. Jiro Kondo, Foundation
Chairman and Chairman of the Japan Prize Selection Committeedelivered the opening address and introduced the four winners andspoke about their achievements. After the chairmen from the two
selection panels outlined the reasons for their choices, Foundation
President Dr. Masami Ito presented the four winners with a ce1tificateof merit, a commemorative medal and, for each category, a cash award
of 50 million yen (each category sharing 50 million yen).
In their acceptance speeches, each of the laureates addressed asfollows:
Dr. Sugimura: "I am pleased to be able to state that the concept ofcancer as a disease of DNA is now firmly established. Happily, many
scientists all over the world are continuing to expand our knowledge
facilitating new approaches to cancer diagnosis, treatment andprevention." ,Dr. Ames: "If my work contributes to improving the health of theJapanese people I feel it is only paying back for all of the pleasures yourwonderful country has given me.",Dr. Engelberger: "My cause celebrated today is to develop a robotthat wi ll serve elderly, home bound people as a servant-companion.
Surely JARA shares in this goal.", andDr. Yoshikawa: "In recent years, great advances have been made in

Address byHis Majestry
The Emperor
I extend my heartfelt
congratu lations to the four
winners of the thirteenth Japan
Prize. Dr. Sugimura and Dr.
Ames are being honored here for their outstanding work in the areaof the "Biotechnology in Medicine," and Dr. Engelberger and Dr.
Yosh ikawa are receiving the award for their remarkable
contributions to the field of "Systems Engineering for an
Artifacnial Environment."
The extensive research conducted by Dr. Sugimura and Dr.
Ames has been instrumental in establishing the fundamental
concept that cancer is a disease caused by changes in DNA. Dr.
Engelberger and Dr. Yoshikawa have made valuable contributions
to the realization of system technologies, including the formationof objectives and methodologies in technological development andenvisioning future technologies, such as using robots to care forinvalids and the disabled. I wish to express my deepest respect andappreciation to each of these four distinguished scientists for theirremarkable achievements.
Today, the advances of science and technology are truly
phenomenal. It is my most ardent desire that these advances will
be applied to the promotion of the health and well-being of all thepeople of the world, to the maintenance of a sound environment,and to the promotion of all that is conducive to human happiness.
In this sense, the research and achievements of the four awardees
a.re of the deepest significance. It is my sincere hope that theirresearches will bear more and more fruit in the future.
In closing, I hope that the Japan Prize will go on making an evergreater contribution to the advancement of science and technology.
the area of manufacturing technology. This area has developed as thevenue for the practical application of the fruits of several fundamental
spheres of scholarship. However, manufactured goods cannot be
produced just with the knowledge from these various spheres alone.
That is why the thinking and actions of individual persons come intoplay and are the requisite conditions for the manufacture of goods. It is
manufacturing theory that incorporates these factors as the subject ofresearch, which includes both general design theory and aitifactualengineering. Please allow me to believe that my receipt of thi shonorable award means some light has been shed on these fie lds."

BanquetFollowing the presentation ceremony, a banquet was held at Hotel
New Otani in Tokyo on the evening of April 25, in the presence ofTheir Majesties The Emperor and Empress with approximately 250
distinguished guests in attendance.
An opening address by the Foundation President, Dr. Masami Ito,was followed by dinner,
after which his Majesty
The Emperor honored thefour winners with acongratulatory toast. A
second toast was made by
H. E. Toru Miyoshi, Chief
Ju stice of the SupremeCourt. A third toast wasproposed by H. E. Takashi
Kosugi,
MinisterofA view of the Banquet

Education, who asked theguests to join him intoasting the Japan Pri ze's
contribution to world peaceand prosperity.
The banquet continued
with a congratulatory
message from H. E. Baron His Majesty The Emperor proposing a toast
Patrick Nothomb, of the Kingdom of Belgium, the representative of thediplomatic corps in Japan. Thereafter, Mr. C. Lawrence Greenwood,
Jr. , of United States of America, Charge d'Affaires ad interim, followedwith his own congratulatory speech.
The end of the banquet was hi ghlighted by a performance fromChiba University and Utsunomiya University. To close the banquet,Dr. Sugimu ra, Dr. Ames, Dr. Engelberger, and Dr. Yoshikawa
delivered speeches of thanks.

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Memorable Album of the Laureates•Si!Mii,MFSugimura collects
insects while staying inKaruizawa, a summer
resort, with his friends.

Dr. Enge lberger was 12
years old when this picture
was taken, but his pose is
as impos ing as his father' s.
In 1970, Dr. Sugimurav isited Rome with hiswife to attend a meetingof an academ ic society.

Dr. Engelberger is at the helm of a
new sail ing boat ch ri stened"Rights of Man."In 1981, Dr. Sugimura wasgiven The Charles S. Mott
Prize from the General
Motors Cancer Research
Foundation of the UnitedStates. At a reception after
the award-g iving ceremony, Dr. Sugimura shows off
his dashing costume.

In 1985, Dr. Enge lberger briefed President
Ronald Reagan on the robot technology toassist su rgeons.

••NN@fM►
In 1987, lunch with Dr. Takashi
Sugimura, co-winner of theprize, and other guests, on thedeck of Dr. Ames' house inBerkeley.

Dr. & Mrs. Ames in their diningroom. Japanese print on thewall and Japanese fabric used
as a curtain.

Dr. Ames in his kitchen .

Dr. Yos hikawa catching agrasshopper with his sisterwhen he was a ch ild .

Dr. Yoshikawa and his
research members holdyearly workshop outside
campus .

Dr. Yoshikawa attends the IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing System) meeting with other representatives
from Canada, the U.S., EU, and Australia.

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Press conference at the Japan Press Center (April 22)

Courtesy call on the Prime Minister (April 23)

Holiday in Kyoto (April 27)

Japan Prize Week

Welcome reception (April 23)

Reception party hosted by the American Embassy(April 24)

Visit to the Japan Academy (April 24)

Selection of Laureates Begins
for the 1998 (14th) Japan Prize
The categories for the 1998 (14th)
Japan Prize are "Generation and Design of
New Materials Creating Novel Functions"and "Biotechnology in AgriculturalSciences." Candidates have been recommended through numerous letters ofnomination received by the Foundationfrom around the world. The 1998 (14th)
Japan Prize Selection Committee will beestablished in the Foundation and theresults will be announced in December.
The presentation ceremony will take placein April 1998.

Academic discussion (April 26)

Commemorative lectures (April 24)

Generation and Design of New
Materials Creating Novel Functions

Biotechnology
in Agricultural Science

Recently, we have made rapid progress in thearea of materials science and technology. Mostof them are definitely based upon themethodology of generation and design of novel
structu res having controllability at the atomic andmolecular level. Due to these advances, various
new material functions and characteristics havebeen generated, which has contributed to theinnovation of sc ience and engineering.
The Prize for 1998 will feature the aforementioned field of "Generation and Design of New
Materials Creating Novel Functions". The Prize
will be awarded to a pioneering individual who has
substantially contributed to the dramatic progressof this science and technology making a strong
impact on society.

The promotion of sustainable agricu ltural
production compatible with the preservation of theenvironment will become difficult in future in viewof the rapid increase of the population, particularlyin the developing regions of the world.
In order to address this problem, thedevelopment of biotechnology is considered to be
one of the key issues .
The prize for 1998 will be awarded foroutstanding achievements in the development ofbiotechnology in agricultural sciences relating togenetics, breed ing and cu ltivation to improve theyield, quality and tolerance to biotic and abiotic
stresses, including post-harvest biotechnology toreduce the losses and deterioration of ag ricultural
products during transportation , storage andprocessing.