The Japan Prize Foundation

Japan Prize

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 15,000 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 2024 Japan Prize Laureates

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Members of the 2024 Japan Prize Selection Committee

Chairman Makoto Asashima Director General
of Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization
Research Professor, Teikyo University
Academic Advisor, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Deputy Chairman Yoichiro Matsumoto Professor Emeritus
The University of Tokyo
Members Mariko Hasegawa President, Japan Arts Council
Professor Emeritus, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI
Hiroto Ishida Adviser
The Japan Prize Foundation
Kazunori Kataoka Vice Chairperson, Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion
Center Director, Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM)
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Masayuki Matsushita Director
The Japan Prize Foundation
Kyosuke Nagata President
University of Tsukuba
Hideyuki Okano Professor
Keio University School of Medicine
Tatsuya Okubo Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Hiroto Yasuura Director General, Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center
Vice-Director-General, National Institute of Informatics, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, Research Organization of Information and Systems
Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University

(Names listed in alphabetical order. Titles and positions are valid as of January 2024)

Selection Subcommittee for the “Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure” field
Chairman Tatsuya Okubo Executive Vice President, The University of Tokyo
Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Deputy Chairman Tadafumi Adschiri Research Professor
Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University
Member Keiko Fujioka President, Functional Fluids Ltd.
Jun-ichiro Hayashi Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering
Kyushu University
Yuya Kajikawa Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives
The University of Tokyo
Reiko Kuwano Professor
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Shigeo Maruyama Distinguished Professor
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Yoshihiko Matsui Guest Professor, Waseda University
Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University
Yoshihiro Mizuguchi Executive Officer Chief Technology Officer
Sustainability Co-Creation Unit
JGC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
Akira Mori Professor
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo
Hisashi Nakamura Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo
Nobuko Saigusa Director
Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies
Tohru Setoyama Executive Fellow, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Chiharu Tokoro Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Specialist Akihiko Kondo Vice President, Kobe University
Professor, Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University
Shunsuke Ono Associate Professor, School of Computing, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Selection Subcommittee for the “Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Science” field
Chairman Hideyuki Okano Professor
Keio University School of Medicine
Deputy Chairman Masayuki Miura Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The University of Tokyo
Member Ken J. Ishii Professor
The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
Takashi Kadowaki President
Toranomon Hospital
Yuko Kitagawa Provost and Vice-President, Keio University
Professor, Keio University School of Medicine
Atsushi Kumanogoh Dean and Professor
Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University
Shoen Kume Professor
School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Seishi Ogawa Professor
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Hiroyuki Sasaki University Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University
Specially-Appointed Professor, Medical Institute of Bioregulation
Kyushu University
Tomomi Shimogori Team Leader
Center for Brain Science, RIKEN
Taisuke Tomita Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Yasuteru Urano Professor
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Akihiko Yoshimura Professor
Keio University School of Medicine

(Names listed in alphabetical order. Titles and positions are valid as of January 2024)

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