Japan Prize
Selection Process
Nominations 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 Selection Committee, which conducts evaluations of candidates’ achievements from 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 field are decided. Every January, The winners of that year’s Japan Prize are announced. The Presentation Ceremony is held in mid-April in Tokyo.
Members of the 2012 Japan Prize Selection Committee
| Chairman | Hiroshi Komiyama | Chairman of the Institute, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., President Emeritus, The University of Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Vice Chairman | Ryozo Nagai | President, Jichi Medical University |
| Members | Makoto Asashima | Executive Director, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science |
| Kunio Iwatsuki | Director, The Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo | |
| Yoshio Karita | Director, The Japan Prize Foundation | |
| Masafumi Maeda | Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo |
|
| Masayuki Matsushita | Director, The Japan Prize Foundation | |
| Makoto Misono | Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo | |
| Hideo Miyahara | President, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology | |
| Takehiko Sasazuki | University Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University President Emeritus, National Center for Global Health and Medicine |
|
| Selection Subcommittee for the “Materials and Production” field | ||
| Chairman | Masafumi Maeda | Executive Vice President, Professor, The University of Tokyo |
| Deputy Chairman | Kazunori Kataoka | Professor, Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo |
| Member | Makoto Gonokami | Vice President, The University of Tokyo Professor, Department of Physics Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo |
| Hideo Hosono | Professor, |
|
| Motomu Kanai | Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry |
|
| Takashi Kato | Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo |
|
| Fumihiko Kimura | Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering, Hosei University |
|
| Noritaka Mizuno | Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo |
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| Kotobu Nagai | Managing Director of Global Research Center for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials Science, National Institute for Materials Science | |
| Takashi Nakamura | Professor, Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University |
|
| Takeshi Uenoyama | Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation Associate Director of R&D Division |
|
| Selection Subcommittee for the “Biological Production and Biological Environment” field |
||
| Chairman | Kunio Iwatsuki | Director, The Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo |
| Deputy Chairman | Yoshihiro Hayashi | Director General, Yamashina Institute forOrnithology |
| Member | Taizo Hogetsu | Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo |
| Nori Kurata | Professor, National Institute of Genetics | |
| Kei-ichiro Maeda | Professor, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo |
|
| Shigetou Namba | Professor, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo |
|
| Harufumi Nishida | Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Biological Sciences, Chuo University |
|
| Fumihiko Sato | Professor, Division of Integrated Life Science |
|
| Akio Shimomura | Professor, Department of Forest Science Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo |
|
| Yoshihisa Shirayama | Executive Director of Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology |
|
| Takakazu Yumoto | Professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University | |
(alphabetical order, titles as of April 2, 2012)
The Japan Prize Nomination System
The Foundation’s JPNS (Japan Prize Nomination System) on the Web facilitates the process of the nomination by the Japan Prize Official Nominators around the world. Additional details are available here.