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No. 57

Feb. 2017www.japanprize.jp

2017 Japan Prize Laureates Announced
This year’s Japan Prize will be awarded to Dr. Adi Shamir, for his significant contributions to
information security through his pioneering research on cryptography,
and jointly to Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna
for the development of a revolutionary new technology in genetic engineering.
“Electronics, Information and Communication” field“Life Science” field

Dr. Adi ShamirProf. Emmanuelle CharpentierIsraelFranceProfessor,
Weizmann Institute of Science

Director, Max Planck Institute for
Infection Biology (Berlin)

Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna

Professor, University of California, Berkeley
United States

The Japan Prize Foundation has decided to award the 2017 (33rd) Japan Prize to Dr. Adi Shamir of Israel, Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier ofFrance and Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna of the United States.
In the field of “Electronics, Information and Communication,” Dr. Adi Shamir is being honored for “contributions to information security
through pioneering research on cryptography.”Dr. Shamir’ s achievements span from the development of the “RSA cryptosystem,” an innovative encryption technique utilizing mathematicalmethodology, to the proposal of the “secret sharing scheme” which ensures secrecy by breaking up classified information into parts and dispersing
it among several participants, the “identification scheme” through which individuals can be identified without revealing secret information, andthe generic “differential cryptanalysis” which deciphers common key cryptosystems.
These remarkable achievements have transformed cryptography from a mere technology to the academic discipline of “cryptology.”
Furthermore, by developing cryptosystems which form the basis of information security, Dr. Shamir has paved the way to the fast and convenient
open digital network environment that we take for granted today.
Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna are being honored for their remarkable achievement in the field of “Life Science”
through the “elucidation of the genome editing mechanism by the CRISPR-Cas.”
Genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas system, developed by Prof. Charpentier and Dr. Doudna, is truly a revolutionary technique in genetic
engineering that is far more economical and speedy than those previously available. This overwhelmingly simple technique enables one to cut the
DNA of any organism at arbitrary locations to edit freely by means of removing, replacing or insertion. It was adopted at an explosive pace as a
research tool in the life sciences, and is now being applied to research in a wide range of fields, such as breeding, drug development and medicine.
As described, the achievements of the three laureates are deemed most eminently deserving of the Japan Prize given to honor contributions to
the advancement of science and technology which further the cause of peace and prosperity of mankind. The award presentation ceremony tohonor the laureates will be held on April 19 of this year at the National Theatre in Tokyo.

The Japan Prize came into being after the late Mr. Konosuke Matsushita,
the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (now known as
Panasonic Corporation), responded in 1982 with a personal donation to
the then government’s wish to create a prestigious international prize forscientists from around the world as a token of gratitude to internationalsociety. With a cabinet endorsement, the Prize was first awarded in
1985. Since that year, the Japan Prize Foundation has awarded the Japan
Prize to 88 laureates from 13 countries, to date.

“Electronics, Information and Communication” field
Achievement : Contribution to information security throughpioneering research on cryptography

Dr. Adi Shamir (Israel)

Born: July 6, 1952 (Age: 64, Nationality: Israel)
Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science

Summary
The advent of open digital networks, namely the Internet, has enabled
us to lead a convenient lifestyle like never before. Such comfort has
been made possible thanks to security measures preventing the theft andmanipulation of valuable information. It is Dr. Adi Shamir who proposed
many of the underlying concepts in information security and developed
a series of practical solutions.
Information in digital networks is coded in binary digits. Utilizing
mathematical methodology, Dr. Shamir has invented and proposed
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” with which 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 ofside-channel attacks which decipher code by monitoring the physical informationof the computer carrying out encryption, such as power consumption and noise.

Co-developing the first practical public-key
cryptography with two MIT researchers
Cryptography plays an important role in our lives, but for a long time,
it was primarily used by specific groups in society such as the government
and the military. In such cases, the same cryptographic key was used forboth encryption and decryption, and was secretly shared among specificindividuals in the group. However, as open digital networks emerged anda large number of unspecified users began to exchange information, theneed for a new cryptosystem arose to overcome major issues of safetysurrounding the distribution and sharing of cryptographic keys.
In 1976, Stanford University researchers Dr. Whitfield Diffie andDr. Martin Hellman proposed a new cryptosystem called the “publickey cryptography.” The system has two types of keys, the encryption
key which is open to the public, and the decryption key which is kept
private. This scheme allows a large number of unspecified people tosend secret information encrypted with a public key, which can only bedecrypted by the intended recipient. This enables secure transactions,such as shopping over the internet with a credit card.
Its first practical realization, the “RSA cryptosystem,” was co-developed in1977 by three young researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), namely Dr. Ron Rivest, Dr. Adi Shamir, and Dr. Leonard Adleman.
Intrigued by the proposal of public key cryptography, Dr. Rivest and
Dr. Shamir explored encryption methods using various mathematicaltechniques. Joining midway through the research, Dr. Adleman searched
for flaws that could lead to decryption. After numerous trials, they finallysucceeded with their 43rd iteration, and named it the RSA cryptosystemtaking the first letter of the three doctors’ names.
The essential basis of this cryptosystem lies in the difficulty in theprime factorization of very large numbers (the product of two prime
numbers). The product of two prime numbers is publicly released as
the encryption key. In order to uncover the decryption key, one needs
to perform prime factorization on the encryption key, and identify thetwo prime numbers. The product of two prime numbers used in today’s
RSA cryptosystem expressed in binary is between 22048 and 24096, muchgreater than the total number of atoms in a galaxy, which is 2223. Even asupercomputer would be unable to compute this in 10 thousand years.
The RSA cryptosystem can also be used as a signature mechanism.
A message encrypted using the decryption key can in turn be decryptedusing the encryption key, allowing anyone to verify the signatory as
the one with the decryption key.

The invention of the secret sharing scheme which
protects information from disasters
Information dispersal is crucial for the secure storage of important
data. In 1979, Dr. Shamir was the first to propose the “secret sharing
scheme,” which specifies the dispersal method that ensures the securityof information depending on the extent of dispersed information
leakage. This was achieved using the polynomial method.
Based on the fact that a straight line is a first degree polynomial, and a parabola
is a second degree polynomial, secret information is represented as points on thepolynomial. Points other than the secret information are dispersed and stored. By
doing so, a first degree polynomial requires two pieces of dispersed information,and that of the second degree requires three pieces of dispersed information torecover the secret information. This is because two points are sufficient to draw
a straight line with accuracy, and three points for a parabola. Similarly, for apolynomial of order k, the secret information can be recovered by gathering k+1
pieces of dispersed information. By dispersing information into k+1 pieces or
more, up to k pieces of information can be stolen without it being disclosed, andeven if several of them are damaged, it can be restored as long as k+1 pieces
remain safe. By using this scheme, valuable data can be dispersed according to
its intended purpose. As an earthquake countermeasure, for example, information
can be dispersed across three separate locations around the country. Even if
information in one of the locations is destroyed in an earthquake, data can berecovered using information from the other two locations.
In addition, Dr. Shamir invented the “visual secret sharing scheme.”
It involves splitting an image into two or more sandstorm-like patterns,
which, when overlapped, reveal the original image. The separated
images are expressed as light and dark dots that, when overlapped,
manifests as light-light, light-dark or dark-dark overlay, thereby
reproducing the original image.
Following Dr. Shamir’s proposal of the “secret sharing scheme,” adiverse range of variants has been studied by numerous researchers. Besides being adopted for practical use, this scheme has also been applied
to other cryptographic technology, thereby contributing enormously tothe advancement of cryptographic technology research.

An identification scheme that does not reveal
any secret information
In the physical world, IDs such as a driver license must be presented
in order to prove one’s identity. In digital networks, however, presenting
secret information such as a password poses a risk of it being stolen,
which could lead to identity theft.
In 1986, Dr. Shamir developed an “identification scheme,” which proves
one’s possession of authentic secret information during a transaction without revealing any of it to the other party. Based on the mathematical theoryof quadratic residue, it is a magnificent achievement both academicallyand practically, and has been adopted by satellite broadcasting services inbilling systems that guarantee the authenticity of its users.

The discovery of a generic methodfor decrypting common-key cryptosystems
Advancement in cryptographic technology requires not only thedevelopment of new technology but also the discovery of flaws inexisting technology. The RSA cryptosystem by Dr. Shamir’s group
was developed to hold up against Dr. Adleman’s deciphering tests.
Dr. Shamir himself studied the risk of illegitimate deciphering in great
depth and has made important suggestions on the topic.
In 1990, Dr. Shamir demonstrated that many common key cryptosystems could be deciphered, by analyzing the statistical differences in the
differential values of two encrypted messages which results in parts of■ Cryptosystem
Encrypted
message

Encrypt

Decrypt

Encryption key

Decryption key

PlainmessagePlainmessage(original message)

Common key
Encryption key andDecryption key match

Public keys
Can bemade public

Encryption key andDecryption key do not match■ RSA cryptosystem EncryptedPlainmessagem

Message
expressed as
integers

message

Encryptcme mod n
Plain message m to thepower of e, divided by n,
the remainder becomes
Encrypted message c.

How the recipient
generates the key

Encryption
keys n and e
Select very large prime
numbers p and q, create
product n (n=p×q)
Select an integer e lessthan nPrimefactorization isdifficultPlainmessage

Decryptm

cd mod n
Encrypted message c to thepower of d, divided by n,
the remainder becomes Plain
message m.

Decryption
keys n and d
There exists a relation where theremainder of e×d divided by (p-1)×(q-1)
is 1, so d cannot be computed without
knowing the prime numbers p and q.
Prime numbers n and q are extremely
large. Even a super computer runningfor 10 thousand years would not be able
to compute the prime factorization of n.

the encryption process canceling each other out.
Many common key cryptosystems encrypt information by the repeatedapplication of simple encryption process, and are therefore prone to sucha decryption method. Dr. Shamir went on to prove that it is possible todecipher the DES (Data Encryption Standard), adopted by the National
Bureau of Standards (NBS, today’s NIST) in 1977 as the world’s firstencryption standard for commercial transaction, if only eight or so
iterations of the encryption processes are performed.
In practice, DES was never cracked as it had been encrypting information
16 times over. This discovery, however, spurred the development of a safer
cryptosystem and led to NIST’s adoption of a new encryption standard in 2000.

Deciphering encryption using a smartphone placed
beside a PC
Deciphering information by analyzing the activities of the encryption
and decryption program based on fluctuations in the computer’s physicalinformation, such as power consumption and machine noise, is calleda side-channel attack. From an early stage, Dr. Shamir focused onside-channel attacks and made numerous breakthroughs.
In 2014, Dr. Shamir demonstrated that it is possible to break the
RSA encryption, developed by him and his colleagues, by analyzing themachine noise picked up by a smartphone placed beside the computer.
Such findings hold important significance for the future design ofsecure systems including the hardware.
As described, Dr. Shamir, through 40 years of research, hastransformed cryptography from a minor technology for the few to theacademic discipline of “cryptology.”
In an era in which the rise of open digital networks has enabled the peopleof the world to freely exchange information, Dr. Shamir has consistently
pioneered the frontiers of information security research and created new
research trends. With the emergence of intelligent computing such as A.I.,
great anticipation is building around the future of Dr. Shamir’s research.

“Life Science” field
Achievement : Elucidation of the genome editing mechanismby the CRISPR-Cas

Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier (France)

Born: December 11, 1968 (Age 48)
Director, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (Berlin)

Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna (USA)

Born: February 19, 1964 (Age 52)
Professor, University of California, Berkeley

Summary
Genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas system, announced by
Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr. Jennifer Doudna in 2012, is arevolutionary new technology in genetic engineering. It was adopted
at an explosive rate as a useful tool for research in the life sciences.
Today, it continues to be applied to research in a wide range of fields,such as breeding, drug development and medicine. This technology
was developed in the process of elucidating the bacterial defense
mechanism against such threats as viral infections. Bacteria canremember the DNA of intruding viruses by absorbing their DNA into
their own. 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 systemtakes advantage of this mechanism, and enables one to cut the DNAof any organism at arbitrary locations to edit freely by means ofremoving, replacing or insertion.

Meeting of two female scientists results in a long distanceresearch collaboration
CRISPR is an abbreviation for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short
Palindromic Repeats. Bacteria genomes frequently contain repeating
structures of palindrome-like identical sequences, made up of 20 to 50
bases, in between short sequences (spacers).
This repeating structure is CRISPR. It is sometimes called the
CRISPR locus including the genes that code the string of adjoining
Cas (CRISPR associated) proteins.
This repeating sequence came to be recognized as genome sequencing of many bacteria and archaebacteria advanced, but its role wasinitially a mystery. Later on, it was discovered that spacer sequences
are not inherent in bacteria, but are derived from foreign viruses andplasmids. It was then hypothesized that CRISPR’s role is to provide
bacteria with adaptive immunity against intruders, which was later
proven to be the case.
The fact that small unicellular bacteria possess an ingenious immune
system was received with great surprise and spurred research on how
bacteria fight off invaders. This is the mechanism that was elucidatedby Prof. Charpentier and Dr. Doudna. The two met in Puerto Rico in
March 2011 at the conference on “Regulating with RNA in Bacteria”
hosted by the American Society for Microbiology, and began their joint
research immediately thereafter.
Prof. Charpentier, born in France, is a microbiologist with a PhD
from Institut Pasteur. At the time, she was working at Umea University
in Sweden, near the arctic region.
In the early 2000s, when she headed a small laboratory at the
University of Vienna, she became interested in CRISPR, which had
not yet received much attention. By 2009, she had discovered that two
RNA and Cas9 protein in the streptococcus pyogenes genome play animportant role in a bacterium’s immune system.
Already at this point, Prof. Charpentier believed in its potential as a
new technology for genetic engineering.
Dr. Doudna, on the other hand, graduated with a PhD from Harvard
University where she studied RNA enzymes (ribozymes). As a structural biologist, she has since consistently researched the various functionsof RNA, including the elucidation of the three-dimensional structureof ribozyme crystals.
From 2002, she has worked as a professor at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley. Since she became aware of the hypothesis about
CRISPR’s potential role in the adaptive immunity of bacteria around2005, she had been conducting research to elucidate the role of RNA
in the defense mechanism of cells.
Looking back, Dr. Doudna feels that upon meeting Prof. Charpentier,intuition told her they could complement each other through joint
research. Thus began a long distance research collaboration bridging
Northern Europe and the West Coast of the United States, which soon
produced results that would astonish the world.

The birth of a genome editing technologythat enables us to freely rewrite DNA
Already in June of the year following their first meeting, the joint
research group used the DNA of streptococcus pyogenes provided by
Prof. Charpentier to elucidate the detailed mechanism of how the two
RNA and the bacteria’s Cas protein (Cas9) cut foreign DNA. Alongwith the discovery, they also demonstrated that this knowledge can beconverted into a revolutionary genome editing technology. It was anachievement that truly took the world by storm.
When a bacterium is invaded by a foreign virus, the invader’s
DNA is fragmented by the Cas enzyme and stored in the CRISPR
locus as spacer sequences. If the bacterium detects the same invader
again, short-chain CRISPR RNA (crRNA) is produced using thestored spacers as the template.
crRNA then forms a compound with trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA) which provides the base for the Cas protein. This compound(gRNA) guides the Cas enzyme to its complementary location in theinvader’s DNA.
The Cas9 enzyme that snips the DNA strand has two DNA incisionsections, with one section cutting one of the strand and the othersection cutting the opposite strand. The markers used for incision
are short sequences approximately three-base-long called PAM (Proto-spacer Adjacent Motif) located throughout the intruder’s DNA.
The Cas9 enzyme coming in contact with PAM triggers incision.
Having elucidated this mechanism, their research group demonstrated that by designing and synthesizing gRNA that corresponds
to the target DNA locus, and introducing it into a cell together with
Cas9, the target DNA can be discriminately cut at as many PAM
positions as desired with pinpoint accuracy.
The incision site of target DNA is recombined by an intracellular
repair mechanism, but due to the shift that occurs in the basesequence, the gene loses its function and becomes knocked out.
Furthermore, introducing a base sequence into the incision siteinduces homologous recombination repair, resulting in the insertionof this base sequence into the DNA.
It is without a doubt that the whole world was excited by the discovery of a new genome editing technology that is highly versatile, precise
and efficient. Thanks to its low cost and speediness compared to existing
techniques such as ZFN and TALEN, as well as its overwhelming
simplicity, CRISPR has attracted many researchers and spurred further
trial and research.

25 years since the discovery of a mysterious sequence– The future of genome editing
The mysterious repeating sequence in the DNA of bacteria was
first observed back in 1987. Dr. Yoshizumi Ishino of the ResearchInstitute for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University reported theexistence of a mysterious base sequence in E. coli, concluding his
report with the words, “its biological significance is unknown”.
25 years on, this mysterious base sequence has been adaptedGuide RNA
PAM
Matching genome
sequence
sequence
Genomic DNA

Cas9

RepairNHEJ

InDel resulting inpremature stop codon

HR

Homology directed
recomdination for
precise gene editing

into the CRISPR-Cas9 technology which enables us to edit the
genome of all living things, and is on the verge of bringing about
unprecedented technological innovation across various disciplinesof the life sciences.
The development and improvement of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology
has since become very competitive, with researchers striving to
improve precision and ease of use.
Its popularity has been so remarkable that tailored kits have now
become available, and there is even a commercial genome editing
service operating with success.
In early 2013, the first genome editing of a mammalian cell using
CRISPR-Cas9 was performed. Today, genome editing of humancells, such as those in conjunction with iPS cells, has advanced tothe stage where it is now aiming for clinical application. The fields
of agriculture and livestock breeding are also seeing much activity
with promising research efforts.
While genome editing technology has the potential to revolutionize
the future of mankind, there are also growing concerns over the
ethical issues it raises and its negative impact on the ecosystem, as
exemplified by the genetic modification of reproductive cells andthe eradication of specific organisms.
From early on, Dr. Doudna has been a vocal advocate on theseissues and proposed discussion amongst the scientific community. At
the 2015 “International Summit on Human Gene Editing” hosted by
the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, a consensus
for a certain level of restraint on human gene editing research wasreached. Cautiously yet resolutely, scientists’ efforts in genome
editing are rapidly transforming the field of life science within justa few years from the innovative breakthrough achieved by Prof.
Charpentier and Dr. Doudna’s joint research.
After the remarkable achievement of their joint research, the twoscientists are now pursuing new research in their respective fields.
Prof. Charpentier is now the director of the Max Planck Institute for
Infection Biology and has also founded a venture business on genetherapy. Similarly, Dr. Doudna has founded a venture business andis collaborating with biotech companies to apply her technology intoa wide range of fields.
There is great anticipation in the future activity of Prof. Charpentierand Dr. Doudna.

Nomination and Selection Process■

Every November, the Field Selection Committee of The Japan Prize Foundation designates and announces two
fields in which the Japan Prize will be awarded two years hence. At the same time, the Foundation calls for over
13,000 nominators, strictly comprised of prominent scientists and researchers from around the world invited by
the Foundation, to nominate the candidates through the web by JPNS (Japan Prize Nomination System). The
deadline for nominations is the end of February of the following year.

■

For each field, a Selection Subcommittee conducts a rigorous evaluation of the candidates’ academic achievements. The
conclusions are then forwarded to the Selection Committee, which conducts evaluations of candidates’ achievementsfrom a wider perspective, including contributions to the progress of science and technology, and significant advancement
towards the cause of world peace and prosperity, and finally the selected candidates are recommended for the Prize.

■

The recommendations are then sent to the Foundation’s Board of Directors, which makes the final decision on the winners.

■

The nomination and selection process takes almost one year from the time that the fields are decided. Every January,
the winners of that year’s Japan Prize are announced. The Presentation Ceremony is held in April in Tokyo.
November, 2015
Determinethe fields eligible
for the 2017
Japan Prize
Electronics, Information
and Communication

End February, 2016

November, 2016

January, 2017

April, 2017

Board ofDirectors

Announce
the Laureatesof the 2017
Japan Prize

The 2017
Japan Prize
Presentation
Ceremony

Selection Committee

Invite thenominations

Closing of thenominations

Selection Subcommittee
for Electronics, Information
and Communication
Selection Subcommittee
for Life Science

Life Science

Members of the 2017 Japan Prize Selection Committee
MemberYoshinori Fujiyoshi

Masayuki Matsushita

Yoshihiro Hayashi

Yoshinao Mishima

Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University

Director
The Japan Prize Foundation

ChairmanVice Chairman

President / Director General
National Museum of Nature and Science

Hiroshi Komiyama

Ryozo Nagai

Yoshio Karita

Shojiro Nishio

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

President
Jichi Medical University

Yoichiro Matsumoto

Tadatsugu Taniguchi

Director
The Japan Prize Foundation
Executive Director
RIKEN

President
Tokyo Institute of Technology
President
Osaka University

Project Professor, Institute of Industrial Science
The University of Tokyo

Selection Subcommittee for the “Electronics, Information and Communication” field
MemberAkiko Aizawa

Hideo Ohno

Toru Fujiwara

Yuji Oie

Professor
National Institute of Informatics

Chairman

Deputy Chairman

Shojiro Nishio

Masaru Kitsuregawa

President
Osaka University

Director General
National Institute of Informatics
Professor
Institute of Industrial Science
The University of Tokyo

Professor
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology
Osaka University

Director, Professor, Research Institute of Electrical Communication
Tohoku University

President
Kyushu Institute of Technology

Hiroshi Imai

Yasuo Okabe

Professor
Department of Computer Science, Graduate School ofInformation Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo

Professor
Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies
Kyoto University

Hironori Kasahara

Hideyuki Tokuda

Masanori Koshiba

Hiroto Yasuura

Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Waseda University
Professor, Emeritus Hokkaido University

Professor
Faculty of Environment and Information Studies
Keio University
Trustee (Vice President)
Kyushu University

Selection Subcommittee for the “Life Science” field
MemberMasatoshi Hagiwara

Professor and Vice Dean
Graduate School of Medicine
Kyoto University

Chairman

Deputy Chairman

Yoshinori Fujiyoshi

Yoshihiro Yoneda

Professor
Graduate School of
Pharmaceutical Science
Nagoya University

Director General
National Institutes of Biomedical
Innovation, Health and Nutrition

Yuji Ikegaya

Professor, Department of Chemical Pharmacology
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Noboru Mizushima

Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Graduate School and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo

Kiyotaka Okada

Professor
Department of Agriculture, Ryukoku University

Kenji Kadomatsu

Makoto Sato

Professor
Department of Biochemistry
Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine

Professor
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University

Mineko Kengaku

Masato Umeda

Professor
Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences
Kyoto University

Professor
Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry
Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University( alphabetical order, titles as of December, 2016)

Fields Eligible for the 2018 Japan Prize
Area ofPhysics, Chemistry
and Engineering

Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure

Background and rationale:

A major goal for humankind is the realization of the sustainable development of our society while overcoming various limitations inresources, energy, and the environment, as affirmed by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Widening social
disparity and the increasing number of communities vulnerable to disasters are of growing concern, as the impact of climate change accumulates
and urbanization intensifies.
Thus, we are in serious need of further innovation in the effective development, utilization and recycling of water and resources, various
energy-related technologies, and social infrastructure technologies for cities and transportation systems. Another key challenge is to spur
innovation in fundamental technologies for the realization of a resilient society capable of predicting and responding to environmental changes,
as well as of preventing and mitigating natural and human made disasters.

Achievement eligible:

The 2018 Japan Prize in the field of “Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure” is awarded to an individual(s) who has
achieved breakthroughs in the creation, innovation, development or dissemination of science and technology, thereby contributing towards thesustainability of human society and the improvement of the global environment.
Area of
Life Science, Agricultureand Medicine

Medical Science and Medicinal Science

Background and rationale:

In recent years, developments in modern science have brought about remarkable advancements in the field of medical science and medicinal science.
Revolutionary medical technologies like individually optimized precision medicine driven by personalized diagnosis and genomic medicine, andregenerative medicine have been established one after another, alongside the elucidation of pathological mechanisms for various diseases. While diseases
associated with aging and changes in lifestyle are on the rise, emerging infectious diseases and resistant bacteria, fueled by globalization, have also
become a worldwide issue.
In such times of change, it is highly anticipated that medical science and medicinal science, integrated with other disciplines like engineering andinformation science, will make a greater contribution towards healthy living. These include the creation and spread of new medical treatments, thedevelopment and production of new drugs as well as the development of drug delivery systems.

Achievement eligible:

The 2018 Japan Prize in the field of “Medical Science and Medicinal Science” is awarded to an individual(s) who has achieved scientific andtechnological breakthroughs, such as new discoveries or the development of innovative technologies on the “prevention”, “diagnosis”, “treatment” or“prognosis” of diseases, thereby contributing towards the health and well-being of mankind.

Fields Selection Committee for the 2018 Japan Prize
MemberChairmanVice Chairman

Vice Chairman

Makoto Asashima

Kazuhito Hashimoto

Kohei Miyazono

Vice President
Tokyo Universityof Science

President
National Institutefor Materials Science

Professor
Department of MolecularPathology
Graduate School of Medicine
The University of Tokyo

Yozo Fujino

Yuichi Sugiyama

Ken Furuya

Mariko Takahashi

Mariko Hasegawa

Masayuki Yamamoto

Distinguished YNU Professor
Institute of Advanced Sciences,Yokohama National
University
Professor, Department of Aquatic Bioscience
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Executive Director
The Graduate University for Advanced Studie

Michiharu Nakamura

Counselor to the President
Japan Science and Technology Agency

Head, Sugiyama Laboratory
RIKEN Innovation Center

Science Coordinator
The Asahi Shimbun

Director General
National Institute for Basic Biology

Adviser

Kazuo Kyuma

Executive Member
Council for Science, Technology and Innovation
Cabinet Office( alphabetical order, titles as of December, 2016)

Schedule (2018-2020)

The fields eligible for the Japan Prize (2018 to 2020) have been decided for the two research areas, respectively.
These fields rotate every year in a three year cycle.
Every year the Fields Selection Committee announces the eligible field for the next three years.
Area of Physics, Chemistry and Engineering

Area of Life Science, Agriculture and Medicine

Year

Eligible Fields

Year

2018

Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure
Materials, Production
Electronics, Information and Communication

2018

2019
2020

2019
2020

Eligible Fields
Medical Science, Medicinal Science
Biological Production, Biological Environment
Life Science