Background and Rationale:

Scientific and technological development have expanded humanity’s living space and increased our free time, and have also helped to reduce casualties from natural disasters and other such events. However, there are still people on this planet who have yet to be freed from the yokes of poverty and scarcity. In addition, the right to live in peace is threatened by the adverse impacts of climate change caused by population growth and increased human activity, the continuous decline in biodiversity, and the deteriorating international situation caused by uneven distribution of resources.

Nevertheless, hopes are high that we will be able to solve such global issues through building a carbon-neutral society and circular economy, and becoming nature-positive. An essential step in achieving these goals will be to develop innovative elemental technologies that allow us to harness energy sources (including non-traditional sources), and mineral and water resources, and technologies that improve material circularity, all while improving overall efficiency and reliability. In addition, the world needs advanced observational and prediction technologies to reduce the risks posed by earthquakes, heavy rainfall, floods, and other natural disasters.

A number of steps must be taken to promote the transition to a sustainable society that contributes to the well-being of all people. It is important to design new residential and transportation systems tailored to both urban and rural areas, to gain a better understanding of human behavior, communication, and trust-building, and to build social systems for the next-generation that utilize these elements to ensure people can live safe and fulfilling lives.

Eligible Achievements:

The 2027 Japan Prize will be awarded to breakthroughs in the creation, innovation or dissemination of science and technology in the fields of Resources, Energy, Environment, and Social Infrastructure, thereby contributing significantly to solving social issues and to building a peaceful and sustainable society.

Background and Rationale:

In recent years, medicine and pharmacology have made remarkable advances, contributing to the treatment of previously intractable diseases and greatly extending healthy life expectancy. Our deeper understanding of life’s phenomena at the molecular and cellular levels has borne fruit in innovative therapeutic and diagnostic methods, including the application of genomic data in medicine, gene and cell therapies, next-generation vaccines, drug delivery systems, and imaging technologies. The very concept of medical treatment is being transformed. New therapeutic modalities utilizing cutting-edge technologies, together with advances in foundational methods such as omics and single-cell analyses, have enabled more precise investigation of disease onset and progression. The accelerating pace of data-driven research using vast medical and biological datasets, combined with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and information science, is opening new paths spanning every stage from elucidation of disease mechanisms to improvements in prognosis and implementations of personalized medicine.

Building on the academic foundations of medicine and pharmacology, closer collaborations with and among the information sciences, materials sciences, and biomedical engineering are expected to stimulate novel ideas and technological innovations leading to outcomes that significantly enhance human health and welfare.

Eligible Achievements:

The 2027 Japan Prize in the fields of Medical Science and Pharmacological Science will be awarded to outstanding achievements that have contributed, or are expected to contribute, through innovative elucidation of disease mechanisms and better disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, to the advancement of human health and society.