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

July 1987
Vol.1 No.4

Shisei-Kaikan SF
1-3 Hibiya-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan
Tel. (03)508-7691

American, Indian scientists receive '87 Japan Prize
for rice strain improvement and laser development

The three Japan Prize laureates, left to right,
ceremony in the Na tional Theater.

The Crow n Prince and Princess of J a pan were amongthe 1,300 distinguished Japanese a nd foreign guests on
hand for the awards ceremony of the 1987 Japan Prize heldon Apri l 14 at the National Theater, Tokyo.
The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan(JSTF) awards the J apan Prize to sc ientists who have madesignificant contributions to the deve lopment of var ioustechnologies. This year's winners, in the category ofimprovements of biological functions , were Ors . Henry M.
Beachell (U.S.A.) and Gurdev S. Khu sh (India) , the former
and current directors of Plant Breeding at the International
Rice Research Institute (IRR!) in the Philippines.
They won the prize for their development of thehi gh-yielding rice strains I R8 and IR36. Dr. Theodore H .
Maima n (U.S.A.), who in 1960 became the first scientist to
succeed in generating radiation with a ruby laser, wasnamed the laureate in the category of electro-optics.

The aivards ceremony was made even more impressive by thecreation of a huge Japan Prize symbol above the stage.

JAPAN PRIZE-Research achievements that open the door to the 21st Century
Crown Prince stresses happinessfor all mankind
Following remarks by JSTF
Chairman Kisaburo Y~kota, JSTF
President Konosuke Matsushita
presented a certificate of merit andcommemorative medal as well as
supplementary cash awards - ¥50
million ($337,000) for each laureate
category. The Crown Prince, at far
right below, applauded eachpresentation.

The three Japan Pri ze laureates paid acall on Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
and told him of their hopes to continue tocontribute to the progress of science :rndtechnology.
To thi s, Mr. Nakasone replied, " I hopeeach of you will do just that and in sodoing contribute to the ultimate goal ofmankind - the realization of peace. "In his address commending the three doctors'achievements, the Crown Prince said: "Spectacularadvancements have been made in science and technology
and such progress must continue to be pursued to attainhappiness for all mankind. The accomplishments of thesethree doctors well fit this goal."

Prize winners meet the press
During their visit to Japan, the three Japan Prize
recipients met the local and foreign press in Tokyo andcommented on what they hoped to achieve in the near
future.
Dr. Beachell noted that there are still many unresolved
questions in the research for rice strain improvement andthat he will continue to commit himself to research in thisfield.
Dr. Khush said he had strong hopes of educating thenext generation of research~rs and of establishing ascholarship fund for students in poverty-beset regions of theworld.
Dr. Maiman will direct his future research to thedevelopment of medical applications of lasers so that hecan contribute to the progress of preventive medicine.

The award winners also paid a call on
Tokyo Governor Shunichi Suzuki (right)
who presented them and their wives withseveral commemorative gifts.

JAPAN PRIZE-Banquet honors scientists for their achievements andcontributions toward peace
The 1987 Japa n Pri ze winners we re honored at aba nquet in Tok yo o n th e evenin g o f A pril 14, attended byth e Crown Prince a nd Princess , offi c ia ls from ass istin g
mini stri es, recipients of Japa n's Order of C ultural M erit,a nd a mb assadors a nd mini sters representing nat io ns
wo rld wide - more th a n 500 guests in all.
During th e banquet, a lase r show ho norin g th eac hi evements of Dr. Ma ima n drew a pprec iati ve
exc la mations from th e a udi ence. And to the deli ght o f Drs.
Beachell and Khu sh, the ba nquet menu inc luded a di shmade w ith a n IR stra in of ri ce.

The C ro wn Prince, center, j oined
toast to th e three pri ze w inners.

Lectures deeply impress audiences in Japan

In add iti o n to theba nquet, th e prize winners
a lso attended receptions hosted by th e Ameri can andIndi a n E mbass ies in Japan to co ngratul ate them on their
new ho no rs.

Each o f th e three la ureates gave co mmemorati ve lect uresto scho lars a nd the publi c in To kyo a nd Kyo to . T heir ta lks
inc luded a necdotes a nd descri pti o ns of th e difficulti esenco untered in their res pecti ve resea rch, and th e processes
thro ugh which their creati ve ideas bo re fruit. The lectures
made a great impress io n o n their a udi ences.
Th e three scienti sts a lso met w ith eminent Japanesescho la rs in their respecti ve fi elds in T o kyo and K yo to a nd
exc ha nged th e lates t in fo rm ati o n o n th eir research.

JAPAN PRIZE

Laureates, wives enjoy sightseeing

In Tokyo, they enjoyed aglimpse of the Edo period (I 603 1867), visiting the ancient
Kaminari Gate in Tokyo 's
Asakusa district.

In Kyoto, the three laureates a ndtheir wives joined in feeding thego lden carp in the pond of theJapanese garden Shin-shin-an.
The laureates' achievements andthe awards ceremony were wide ly
reported in the world print andbroadcast media.

Behind the Japan Prize
selection

406 nominations for '88 JapanPrize• In March 1986, the JST F sentletters to 9, 31 3 distingui shed schol a rs
in 86 countries requesting theirnominees for the 198 7 Japan Pri ze
in two catego r ies, improvements o fbiological function s andelectro-optics. After excluding
duplicate nomina tions. a total o f 5 10
recommendations from 29 coun tries
were received , with 96 names comingfrom Japan .
The fo undation 's selecti o ncommittee composed of 27 schol a rs
studied each nomination carefully,
finall y selecting Ors. Beachell ,Khush and Maiman .

• The 1988 Japan Prize selection
co mmittee is no w engaged inselecting the I988 Japa n Pri ze
winners in two a ward categories:
Energy Technology and preventati veMedicine.
Research in energy technology.
importan t to the peace a nd
prosperity of mankind , ha s seen
spectacular developmen t in recentyears. As covered fo r the Japan
Prize award the field is not limited
to developments in the conventional
production , storage, conversion ,transmission and consumption ofenergy, bu t a lso includes such areas
as nuclear fusion and solar energy as
well as the generation a nd saving ofenergy brought a bout by the wind ,tides and waves, geothermal
technology and inventive
conservation .

The preventati ve medicine
categor y transcends research for
immediate medical benefits. It
includes resea rch t ha t hascontributed to protecting the huma nbody from pathogenic bacteri a .
abnormalities in metabolism. theprocess of agin g a nd the various
forms of cancer. It also includes thedetection a nd interruption o f themecha ni sms by which humans
contract diseases .
• Approximatel y I0,000 lettersseeking nomination s for the two
1988 catego ries were sent toscientists a nd scholars worldwide. In
all , the foundation recei ved 406
recommendations.
C oncurrentl y, the JSTF has begun
working o n the selection of theaward categories for the '89 JapanPri ze.