Laureates of the Japan Prize
| Year | Field | Photo | Name (b.-d.) | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Nationality]Affiliation (Titles at the time) | ||||
|
2019 |
Materials and Production |  |
Prof. Yoshio Okamoto (1941 -) | Leading contributions to precision synthesis of helical polymers and development of practical chiral materials for separating chiral drugs |
| [Japan] University Professor of Nagoya University, Chair Professor of Harbin Engineering University, China |
||||
| Biological Production, Ecology |  |
Prof. Rattan Lal (1944-) | Sustainable soil management for global food security and mitigation of climate change | |
| [USA] Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center The Ohio State University |
||||
|
2018 |
Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure |  |
Dr. Akira Yoshino (1948 -) | Development of lithium ion batteries |
| [Japan] Honorary Fellow, Asahi Kasei Corporation Professor, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Meijo University |
||||
| Medical Science and Medicinal Science |  |
Dr. Max D. Cooper (1933-) | Discovery of B and T lymphocyte lineages and its impact on understanding disease pathology and therapeutic development (Joint Award) | |
| [USA] Professor, Emory University School of Medicine | ||||
 |
Dr. Jacques Miller (1931 -) | |||
| [Australia] Professor Emeritus, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | ||||
|
2017 |
Electronics, Information and Communication |  |
Dr. Adi Shamir (1952 -) | Contribution to information security through pioneering research on cryptography |
| [Israel] Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science | ||||
| Life Science |  |
Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier (1968-) | Elucidation of the genome editing mechanism by the CRISPR-Cas (Joint Award) | |
| [France] Director, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (Berlin) | ||||
 |
Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna (1964 -) | |||
| [USA] Professor, University of California, Berkeley | ||||
|
2016 |
Materials and Production |  |
Dr. Hideo Hosono (1953-) | Creation of unconventional inorganic materials with novel electronic functions based on nano-structure engineering |
| [Japan]Professor, Materials and Structures Laboratory, Founding director, Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology |
||||
| Biological Production and Biological Environment |  |
Dr. Steven D. Tanksley (1954-) | Contribution to modern crop breeding through research on development of molecular genetic analysis | |
| [USA]Professor Emeritus, Cornell University | ||||
|
2015 |
Resources, Energy and Social Infrastructure |  |
Dr. Yutaka Takahasi (1927-) | Contribution to development of innovative concept on river basin management and reduction of water-related disasters |
| [Japan] Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo | ||||
| Medical Science and Medicinal Science |  |
Dr. Theodore Friedmann (1935-) | Proposal of the concept of gene therapy and its clinical applications (Joint Award) | |
| [USA] Professor of Pediatrics University of California San Diego, School of Medicine | ||||
 |
Prof. Alain Fischer (1949-) | |||
| [France] Professor at Collège de France Director of Institut Imagine, Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades |
||||
|
2014 |
Electronics, Information and Communication |  |
Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu (1932-) | Pioneering research on semiconductor lasers for high-capacity long-distance optical fiber communication |
| [Japan]Honorary Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology | ||||
| Life Science |  |
Dr. C. David Allis (1951-) | Discovery of histone modifications as fundamental regulators of gene expression | |
| [USA]Joy and Jack Fishman Professor, The Rockefeller University | ||||
|
2013 |
Materials and Production |  |
Prof. C. Grant Willson (1939-) | Development of chemically amplified resist polymer materials for innovative semiconductor manufacturing process (Joint Award) |
| [USA] Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Rashid Engineering Regent Chair Th e University of Texas at Austin | ||||
 |
Prof. Jean M. J. Fréchet (1944-) | |||
| [USA] Vice- President for Research King Abdullah University of Science and Technology |
||||
| Biological Production and Biological Environment |  |
Dr. John Frederick Grassle(1939-2018) | Contribution to marine environmental conservation through research on ecology and biodiversity of deep-sea organisms | |
| [USA] Professor Emeritus, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | ||||
| 2012 (28th)  |
Environment, Energy and Infrastructure |  |
Dr. Masato Sagawa (1943-) | Developing the world's highest performing Nd-Fe-B type permanent magnet and contributing to energy conservation |
| [Japan] President, Intermetallics Co., Ltd. | ||||
| Healthcare and Medical Technology |  |
Dr. Janet D. Rowley (USA) (1925-2013) | Development of a new therapeutic drug targeting cancer-specific molecules (Joint Award) |
|
| [USA] Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology and Human Genetics, The University of Chicago | ||||
 |
Dr. Brian J. Druker (1955-) | |||
| [USA] Professor and Director of OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University | ||||
 |
Dr. Nicholas B. Lydon (1957-) | |||
[USA] Founder and Director Blueprint Medicines |
||||
| 2011 (27th) |
Information and Communications |  |
Dr. Dennis M. Ritchie (1941-2011) | Development of the operating system, UNIX (Joint Award) |
| [USA] Distinguished Member of Technical Staff Emeritus, Bell Labs | ||||
 |
Dr. Ken L. Thompson (1943-) | |||
| [USA] Distinguished Engineer, Google Inc. | ||||
| Bioscience and Medical Science |  |
Dr. Tadamitsu Kishimoto (1939-) | Discovery of interleukin-6 and its application in treating diseases (Joint Award) | |
| [Japan] Emeritus Professor, Osaka University | ||||
 |
Dr. Toshio Hirano (1947-) | |||
| [Japan] Professor, Osaka University | ||||
| 2010 (26th) |
Industrial Production and Production Technology |  |
Prof. Shun-ichi Iwasaki (1926-) | Contributions to high-density magnetic recording technology by the development of a perpendicular magnetic recording method |
| [Japan] Director, Tohoku Institute of Technology Professor Emeritus, Tohoku University | ||||
| Biological Production and Environment |  |
Prof. Peter Vitousek (1949-) | Contributions to solving global environmental issues based on the analysis of nitrogen and other substances' cycles | |
| [USA] Professor of Biology, Stanford University | ||||