Japan Prize

Eligibility

• Every November the Fields 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 Web System. The deadline for nominations is the end of February of 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 fields are decided. Every January, The winners of that year’s Japan Prize are announced. The Presentation Ceremony is held in mid-April in Tokyo.

Candidates for the Prize must be alive.

There are no restrictions as to nationality, profession, age or gender.

Self-nomination is NOT accepted.

The Japan Prize is intended, in principle, to recognize advanced breakthroughs in science and technology. However, work done in the past may be selected for the award if its significance has recently been appreciated. The Prize is in principle awarded to individuals. However, in exceptional cases, it may be awarded to a group consisting of up to three people. When a group has been proposed, they will be treated as one candidate.
 

Summary

The Japan Prize is awarded annually to scientists and engineers from around the world who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science and technology, thereby furthering the cause of peace and prosperity of mankind.
Each year two fields of scientific endeavor are honored. The Japan Prize laureates receive a certificate of merit and a prize medal. A cash prize of 50 million yen is also awarded for each prize field.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

For 2025, prizes will be awarded in two fields: Biological Production, Ecology/Environment; and Materials Science and Production.

The field of Biological Production, Ecology/Environment recognizes achievements that have created, extended, or propagated major steps forward in scientific technology and, by advancing basic science related to ecology and environmental science and biological-production-related science and technology, have made or have the potential to make major contributions to sustainable development of human society in harmony with our ecosystem.

The field of Materials Science and Production recognizes the discovery or development of materials that lead to breakthrough advances in science and technology, or for dramatic advancements in manufacturing technology that result in new products, services or industries.