is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind."

Explanation

It is presented by The Japan Prize Foundation. The prize consists of a certificate, a commemorative medal and a cash award of approximately ¥

¥

¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...

50 million (about US$600,000). Only living individuals may be nominated for the prize.

Laureates

Year	Name	Nationality	Citation
2011	Kenneth Thompson Ken Thompson Kenneth Lane Thompson , commonly referred to as ken in hacker circles, is an American pioneer of computer science... Dennis Ritchie Dennis Ritchie Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...		for writing the Unix Unix Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...  operating system.
	Tadamitsu Kishimoto Toshio Hirano Toshio Hirano is a Japanese immunologist best known for his discovery of interleukin-6.- Chronology :*1972 - graduated from Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University*1980 - assistant professor in the School of Medicine, Kumamoto University...		for the discovery of interleukin-6.
2010	Shun’ichi Iwasaki		for contributions to high-density magnetic recording technology by the development of a perpendicular magnetic recording method.
	Peter Vitousek Peter Vitousek Peter Morrison Vitousek is an American ecologist, particularly known for his work on the nitrogen cycle.Born in Hawaii, Vitousek graduated from Amherst College in 1971 and received his Ph.D. in biology from Dartmouth College in 1985...		for contributions to solving global environmental issues based on the analysis of nitrogen and other substances’ cycles.
2009	Dennis L. Meadows Dennis Meadows Dennis L. Meadows is an American scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management, and former director of the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research at the University of New Hampshire...		for contributions in the area of "Transformation towards a sustainable society in harmony with nature".
	David E. Kuhl David E. Kuhl David Edmund Kuhl isan American scientist specializing in nuclear medicine.He is well known for his pioneering work in positron emission tomography. Dr...		for contributions in the area of "Technological integration of medical science and engineering". Specifically, tomographic imaging in nuclear medicine.
2008	Vinton Gray Cerf  Robert E. Kahn Bob Kahn Robert Elliot Kahn is an American Internet pioneer, engineer and computer scientist, who, along with Vinton G. Cerf, invented the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol , the fundamental communication protocols at the heart of the Internet.-Career:After receiving a B.E.E...		for the creation of network architecture and communication protocol for the Internet.
	Victor A. McKusick Victor A. McKusick Victor Almon McKusick , internist and medical geneticist, was University Professor of Medical Genetics and Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA...		for the establishment of medical genetics and contributions to its development.
2007	Albert Fert Albert Fert Albert Fert is a French physicist and one of the discoverers of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disks...   Peter Grünberg Peter Grünberg Peter Andreas Grünberg is a German physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery with Albert Fert of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disk drives.-Biography:...		for the discovery of Giant Magneto-Resistance (GMR) and its contribution to development of innovative spin-electronics devices.
	Peter Shaw Ashton Peter Shaw Ashton Peter Shaw Ashton is a British botanist. He is Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry at Harvard University, and director of the Arnold Arboretum there from 1978 to 1987....		for contributions to the conservation of tropical forest.
2006	John Houghton John T. Houghton As co-chair of the IPCC, he defends the IPCC process, in particular against charges of failure to consider non-CO2 explanations of climate change. In evidence to, the Select Committee on Science and Technology in 2000 he said:...		for pioneering research on atmospheric structure and composition based on his satellite observation technology and for promotion of international assessments of climate change.
	Akira Endo		for the discovery of the Statins and their development.
2005	Makoto Nagao Makoto Nagao is a Japanese computer scientist. He contributed to various fields: machine translation, natural language processing, pattern recognition, image processing and library science...		for pioneering contributions to Natural Language Processing and Intelligent Image Processing.
	Masatoshi Takeichi  Erkki Ruoslahti Erkki Ruoslahti Erkki Ruoslahti is a cancer researcher at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and University of California Santa Barbara.Ruoslahti made seminal contributions to biology of extracellular matrix and its receptors....		for fundamental contribution in elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Adhesion.
2004	Kenichi Honda  Akira Fujishima Akira Fujishima is a Japanese chemist, professor emeritus, University of Tokyo known for significant contributions to the discovery and research of photocatalytic and superhydrophilic properties of titanium dioxide .-Career and research:...		for pioneering work on photochemical catalysis and its application for the environment.
	Keith J. Sainsbury		for contributions to the understanding of shelf ecosystems and their sustainable utilization.
	John H. Lawton		for observational, experimental and theoretical achievements for the scientific understanding and conservation of Biodiversity.
2003	Benoît Mandelbrot Benoît Mandelbrot Benoît B. Mandelbrot was a French American mathematician. Born in Poland, he moved to France with his family when he was a child...   James A. Yorke James A. Yorke James A. Yorke is a Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Physics and chair of the Mathematics Department at the University of Maryland, College Park. He and Benoit Mandelbrot were the recipients of the 2003 Japan Prize in Science and Technology...		for the creation of universal concepts in complex systems - Chaos and Fractals.
	Seiji Ogawa Seiji Ogawa Seiji Ogawa is a Japanese researcher best known for discovering the technique that underlies Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging . He determined that the contrast in blood oxygen levels can be mapped in magnetic resonance imaging, thus showing which areas of the brain respond to the brain's...		for the discovery of the principle for functional magnetic resonance imaging.
2002	Tim Berners-Lee Tim Berners-Lee Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...		for advancement of civilization through invention, implementation and deployment of the World Wide Web.
	Anne McLaren Anne McLaren The Hon. Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, DBE, FRS, FRCOG was the daughter of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten. She became a leading figure in developmental biology. Her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation...   Andrzej K. Tarkowski		for pioneering work on mammalian embryonic development.
2001	John B. Goodenough John B. Goodenough John Bannister Goodenough is an American professor and prominent solid-state physicist. He is currently a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Texas at Austin...		for the discovery of environmentally benign electrode materials for high energy density rechargeable lithium batteries.
	Timothy R. Parsons Timothy R. Parsons Timothy Richard Parsons, OC, FRSC is a Canadian oceanographer and the first Canadian to receive a Japan Prize.Born in Colombo, Ceylon, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1953, a Master of Science degree in 1955, and a Ph.D...		for the contributions to the development of Biological/Fisheries Oceanography and for conservation of fishery resources and marine environment.
2000	Ian L. McHarg Ian McHarg Ian L. McHarg was born in Clydebank, Scotland and became a landscape architect and a renowned writer on regional planning using natural systems. He was the founder of the department of landscape architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. His 1969 book Design with Nature...		for the establishment of an ecological City Planning Process and a proposal of a Land Use Evaluation System.
	Kimishige Ishizaka Kimishige Ishizaka Dr is a Japanese scientist who discovered the antibody class IgE in 1966. His work has been regarded as a major breakthrough in the understanding of allergy. He was awarded the 1973 Gairdner Foundation International Award and the 2000 Japan Prize for his work in immunology. He was elected a member...		for the discovery of Immunoglobulin E and mechanisms of IgE-mediated allergic reactions.
1999	W. Wesley Peterson W. Wesley Peterson William Wesley Peterson was an American mathematician and computer scientist. He was best known for inventing the Cyclic Redundancy Check , for which research he was awarded the Japan Prize in 1999....		for the establishment of coding theory for reliable digital communication, broadcasting and storage.
	Jack L. Strominger Jack L. Strominger Jack Leonard Strominger is Higgins Professor of Biochemistry at Harvard University, specializing in the structure and function of human histocompatibility proteins and their role in disease. He won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1995.Strominger was born in New York City...   Don C. Wiley Don Craig Wiley Don Craig Wiley was an American microbiologist.Wiley was world-renowned for finding new ways to help the human immune system battle such viral scourges as smallpox, influenza, AIDS, Ebola, and herpes simplex. His research was honored with the 1993 Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award...		for the elucidation of the three dimensional structures of class I and class II human histocompatibility antigens and their bound peptides.
1998	Leo Esaki Leo Esaki Reona Esaki also known as Leo Esaki is a Japanese physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Ivar Giaever and Brian David Josephson for his discovery of the phenomenon of electron tunneling. He is known for his invention of the Esaki diode, which exploited that phenomenon...		for the creation and realization of the concept of man-made superlattice crystals which lead to generation of new materials with useful applications.
	Jozef S. Schell Jozef Schell Jozef Stefaan Schell was a Belgian molecular biologist.Jozef Schell studied Zoology and microbiology at the University of Ghent, Belgium. From 1967 to 1995 he worked as a professor at the university...   Marc C. E. Van Montagu Marc Van Montagu Marc Van Montagu is a Belgian molecular biologist. He was full Professor and director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the faculty of Sciences at Ghent University and scientific director of the Genetics Department of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology...		for the establishment of the theory and method of the production of transgenic plants.
1997	Takashi Sugimura  Bruce N. Ames Bruce Ames Bruce Nathan Ames is an American biochemist. He is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute...		for the contribution to establishment of fundamental concept on causes of cancer.
	Joseph F. Engelberger  Hiroyuki Yoshikawa		for the establishment of the Robot Industry and Creation of a Techno-Global Paradigm.
1996	Charles K. Kao Charles K. Kao The Honorable Sir Charles Kuen Kao, GBM, KBE, FRS, FREng is a pioneer in the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications...		for pioneering research on wide-band, low-loss optical fiber communications.
	Masao Ito Masao Ito is a Japanese neuroscientist, and director of the Riken Brain Science Institute.He won the 2006 Gruber Neuroscience Prize, and the 1996 Japan Prize.-Life:...		for the elucidation of the functional principles and neural mechanisms of the cerebellum.
1995	Nick Holonyak Nick Holonyak Nick Holonyak, Jr. invented the first practically useful visible LED in 1962 while working as a consulting scientist at a General Electric Company laboratory in Syracuse, New York and has been called "the father of the light-emitting diode"... , Jr.		for outstanding contributions to research and practical applications of light emitting diodes and lasers through pioneering achievements in the understanding of physical principles and in the process technology of intermetallic compound semiconductors.
	Edward F. Knipling		for pioneering contributions in the development of Integrated Pest Management by the Sterile Insect Release Method and other biological approaches.
1994	William Hayward Pickering William Hayward Pickering William Hayward Pickering ONZ KBE was a New Zealand born rocket scientist who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 22 years, retiring in 1976...		for inspirational leadership in unmanned lunar and planetary exploration, and for pioneering achievements in the development of spacecraft and deep space communications.
	Arvid Carlsson Arvid Carlsson Arvid Carlsson is a Swedish scientist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease...		for the discovery of dopamine as a neurotransmitter and clarification of its role in mental and motor functions and their disorders.
1993	Frank Press Frank Press Frank Press is an American geophysicist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Press was science advisor to President Jimmy Carter from1976 to 1980,and president of the U.S. NationalAcademy of Sciences from 1981 to 1993...		for the development of modern seismology and advancement of international cooperation in disaster science.
	Kary B. Mullis		for the development of the polymerase chain reaction.
1992	Gerhard Ertl Gerhard Ertl Gerhard Ertl is a German physicist and a Professor emeritus at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin, Germany...		for the contributions to the new development of the chemistry and physics of solid surfaces.
	Ernest John Christopher Polge		for the discovery of a method of the cryopreservation of semen and embryos in farm animals.
1991	Jacques-Louis Lions Jacques-Louis Lions Jacques-Louis Lions ForMemRS was a French mathematician who made contributions to the theory of partial differential equations and to stochastic control, among other areas. He received the SIAM's John Von Neumann prize in 1986. Lions is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher.-Biography:After...		for the contributions to analysis and control of distributed systems, and to promotion of applied analysis.
	John Julian Wild		for the development of ultrasound imaging in medicine.
1990	Marvin Minsky Marvin Minsky Marvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...		for the establishment of an academic field named Artificial Intelligence and the proposal of fundamental theories in that field.
	William Jason Morgan Dan McKenzie  Xavier Le Pichon Xavier Le Pichon Xavier Le Pichon is a French geophysicist. Among many other contributions, he is known for his comprehensive model of plate tectonics .He is professor at the Collège de France.-Biography:Le Pichon holds a doctorate in physics....		for the initiation of the theory of plate tectonics and contributions to its development.
1989	Frank Sherwood Rowland Frank Sherwood Rowland Frank Sherwood Rowland is an American Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research is in atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics....		for the studies on the mechanisms of stratospheric ozone depletion by chlorofluorocarbons.
	Elias James Corey Elias James Corey Elias James Corey is an American organic chemist. In 1990 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis", specifically retrosynthetic analysis...		for the pioneering contributions to the syntheses of prostaglandins and their related compounds which are of great therapeutic value.
1988	Georges Vendryes		for the establishment of fast breeder reactor technology.
	Donald Henderson Donald Henderson Donald Ainslie Henderson, known as D.A. Henderson, is an American physician and epidemiologist, who headed the international effort during the 1960s to eradicate smallpox. , he is a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Biosecurity and a professor of...   Isao Arita  Frank Fenner Frank Fenner Frank John Fenner, AC, CMG, MBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian scientist with a distinguished career in the field of virology...		for the eradication of Smallpox.
	Luc Montagnier Luc Montagnier Luc Antoine Montagnier is a French virologist and joint recipient with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Harald zur Hausen of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus...   Robert C. Gallo		for the discovery of the AIDS causing virus and development of diagnostic methods.
1987	Henry M. Beachell Henry Beachell Dr. Henry M. Beachell was an American plant breeder. His research led to the development of hybrid rice cultivars that saved millions of people around the world from starvation....   Gurdev S. Khush		for the development of the IR8 and IR36 strains for rice breeding strategies geared to the tropical and subtropical zones.
	Theodore H. Maiman		for the realization of the world's first laser.
1986	David Turnbull David Turnbull (materials scientist) David Turnbull was an American physical chemist who worked in the interdisciplinary fields of materials science and applied physics. Turnbull made seminal contribution to solidification theory and glass formation. Turnbull was born in Elmira, Elmira Township, Stark County, Illinois...		for pioneering contributions to materials science with impact on new materials technology such as amorphous solids.
	Willem J. Kolff		for research and development of artificial organs and their relevant technology.
1985	John R. Pierce		for outstanding achievement in the field of electronics and communications technologies.
	Ephraim Katchalski-Katzir		for outstanding achievement in basic theory in the field of immobilized enzymes and their practical applications.