Nomination and Selection Process

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 16,000 nominators, strictly comprised of prominent scientists and researchers from around the world invited by the Foundation, to nominate the candidates through the Web System. The deadline for nominations is the end of January 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’ 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 two years 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.

Nomination and Selection Process for the 2026 Japan Prize Laureates

Members of the 2026 Japan Prize Selection Committee

Chairperson	Makoto Gonokami	President, RIKEN Former President, The University of Tokyo
Deputy Chairperson	Hiroyuki Mano	President National Cancer Center
Members	Mariko Hasegawa	President, Japan Arts Council Professor Emeritus The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI
	Norio Kawakami	Vice Program Director, Fundamental Quantum Science Program, TRIP (Transformative Research Innovation Platform), RIKEN Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University
	Masayuki Matsushita	Director The Japan Prize Foundation
	Yasutaka Moriguchi	Director, The Japan Prize Foundation Representative Director The Japan Foundation of Public Communication on Science and Technology
	Kyosuke Nagata	President University of Tsukuba
	Hideyuki Okano	Distinguished Professor, Keio University Director, Keio University Regenerative Medicine Research Center
	Tatsuya Okubo	Presidential Advisor, The University of Tokyo Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Director Center for Strategic Promotion of Green Transformation, The University of Tokyo
	Hiroto Yasuura	Vice-Director-General, National Institute of Informatics, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, Research Organization of Information and Systems Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University

Selection Subcommittee for the “Electronics, Information, and Communication” fields
Chairperson	Hiroto Yasuura	Vice-Director-General National Institute of Informatics, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, Research Organization of Information and Systems Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University
Deputy Chairperson	Hiroshi Imai	Dean, Professor Faculty of Mathematical Informatics, Meiji Gakuin University
Members	Akiko Aizawa	Professor National Institute of Informatics, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, Research Organization of Information and Systems
	Hideharu Amano	Senior Research Fellow Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Professor Emeritus, Keio University
	Takako Hashimoto	Director, Deputy to President Professor, Faculty of Commerce and Economics Chiba University of Commerce
	Toshiro Hiramoto	Professor Department of Informatics and Electronics, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
	Kazuya Masu	Director Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
	Shin-ichi Minato	Professor, Vice Dean Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University
	Shiho Moriai	Senior Executive Director, Executive Director of Strategic Planning Department National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
	Hideyuki Nakashima	President Sapporo City University
	Takao Onoye	Executive Vice President The University of Osaka
	Kazue Sako	Professor Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Waseda University
	Masashi Sugiyama	Director RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
	Akihisa Tomita	Supervising Researcher National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University
	Tomohiko Uyematsu	Director, Specially Appointed Professor Tokyo Shibuya Study Center, The Open University of Japan Professor Emeritus, Institute of Science Tokyo
Specialist	Masato Okada	Professor Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Selection Subcommittee for the “Life Sciences” fields
Chairperson	Kyosuke Nagata	President University of Tsukuba
Deputy Chairperson	Yukiko Gotoh	Professor Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Members	Yoshinori Fujiyoshi	Distinguished University Professor Advanced Research Initiative, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo
	Kenya Honda	Professor School of Medicine, Keio University Team Director RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences
	Yasunori Kanaho	Executive Director University of Tsukuba
	Shigeru Kuratani	Visiting Lecturer Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo Senior Visiting Scientist RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research Honorary Scientist, RIKEN
	Kanto Nishikawa	Professor Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES), Kyoto University
	Takeshi Omasa	Dean, Professor Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Osaka
	Teppei Shimamura	Professor Medical Research Laboratory, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo
	Keiko Sugimoto	Team Director RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
	Hiromi Watanabe	Senior Research Technician Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology, Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Specialist	Hiroyuki Aburatani	Senior Research Fellow Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo