Japan Prize

Eligibility

• Every November, the Fields Selection Committee of The Japan Prize Foundation designates and announces the two fields in which the Japan Prize will be awarded two years hence. At the same time, the Foundation invites 15,500 prominent scientists and researchers around the world to nominate candidates online through the Japan Prize Nomination System. The deadline for nominations is the end of January following the announcement of fields.
• 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, considering how the research contributes to the progress of science and technology, and how significant is its impact on advancing the causes of world peace and prosperity. ,Once this review is complete, the committee then selects the candidates it will recommend for the Prize, and forwards its recommendations to the Board of Directors which makes the final decision.
• After the fields for a specific year are announced, it takes almost one year to complete the nomination and selection process.
• The Japan Prize winners are announced every January, and 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: 

Electronics, Information, and Communication

Background and Rationale:

Recent years have witnessed the explosive spread of computers and smartphones, rapid growth of the internet, and dramatic advances in semiconductor technologies all over the world. The development of electronic, informatics, and communications technologies has helped to improve information processing and communication efficiency, productivity, and quality of life to a striking extent. In addition, rapid advances in data analysis and simulation technologies in physics, chemistry, life sciences, and other fields of research have led to improved experimental accuracy and to new discoveries, which have contributed greatly to the overall advancement of science and technology. Such technologies are becoming increasingly important as they form more of society’s essential infrastructure. Future advances in AI, quantum computing, 5G communications, and quantum communications technologies are expected to lead to further evolution of industrial automation and advanced data processing, and to contribute immensely to the development of IoT-based smart cities.

However, our constantly changing information society will require cybersecurity to play an increasingly vital role in establishing a safe and secure environment, in building a society that is sustainable, and in promoting economic growth. The rapid development of AI has led to the emergence of issues related to energy consumption, more awareness of ethical issues, and more, and these too must be addressed.

Eligible Achievements:

The 2026 Japan Prize in the fields of Electronics, Information, and Communication will be awarded for any of a wide array of achievements that have enormous potential to lead to breakthrough advances in science and technology. Potential winners will have conducted research that could lead to the creation of new industries and innovation of manufacturing technologies, aid in the evolution of information society, ensure societal safety and security, or promote the development of fundamental technologies and systems that contribute to improving quality of life.

Life Sciences

Background and Rationale:

From the moment the genome was deciphered, our understanding of life’s basic principles and the diversity of functions of living organisms, from bacteria to human beings, has improved markedly. Drawing on growing knowledge of how molecules work together and constitute life, scientists are finding answers to their queries regarding such mechanisms at the individual cell level as gene expression control/epigenetics and self-organization/organogenesis during development and differentiation. At the level of individual organisms, the manner in which the nervous system, the immune system, and metabolism are interrelated is coming to light. At the level of ecosystems, we are coming to understand better how molecules mediate the exchange of information among organisms. Research on model organisms and on organisms in the natural world is throwing light on mechanisms of processes ranging from ontogenesis/phylogenesis to aging, evolution, symbiosis, and adaptation to environmental changes. Our deepening understanding of life also owes much to more advanced technology in structural biology, biophysics, chemical biology, and synthetic biology as well as to improvements in imaging technology, single-cell analysis, and analysis of biological big-data. Through these advances at multiple, ever-higher levels, from molecules to cells, to tissues, to individuals, and to populations (ecosystems), it is becoming easier to understand life as a system. We count on further contributions to a sustainable society and humanity’s well-being that are consistently mindful of bioethics and that will establish on a firm basis both the global environment and human health by elucidating the mechanisms of biological phenomena.

Eligible Achievements:

The 2026 Japan Prize in the Life Sciences will reward achievements marking epochal advances in scientific technology that make significant contributions to society through discoveries of previously unknown biological phenomena and through work elucidating regulatory mechanisms, as well as through technical innovations that promise a deeper understanding of living organisms’ functioning in nature.