Press Release from Business Wire: The Japan Prize Foundation

SPACE.WIRE

Press Release from Business Wire: The Japan Prize Foundation
(AFP) Jan 21, 2026
TOKYO, Jan 21, 2026 (BSW) - The Japan Prize Foundation announced the winners of the 2026 Japan Prize at 1:00 p.m. (JST) on 21 January 2026. Prof. Cynthia Dwork (USA) has been awarded the Japan Prize in the field of Electronics, Information, and Communication. Prof. Shizuo Akira (Japan) and Prof. Zhijian "James" Chen (USA) have been awarded the Japan Prize in the field of Life Sciences.

For this year's Japan Prize, Prof. Dwork is being recognized for her Contribution to leading research for building an ethical digital society, including differential privacy and fairness. Prof. Akira and Prof. Chen are being recognized for their Discovery of the nucleic acid sensing mechanism by the innate immune system.

For the 2026 Japan Prize, the Foundation asked approximately 16,000 prominent scientists and engineers from around the world to nominate researchers working in this year's fields. We received 107 nominations for the field of Electronics, Information, and Communication, and 185 nominations for the field of Life Sciences. This year's winners were selected from a total of 292 nominees.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260113214289/en/

Contact

Kiyoshi OGURAPress OfficerThe Japan Prize FoundationPublic RelationsTel: 81-80-2003-1931 (81-3-5545-0551)Fax: 81-3-5545-0554E-Mail: [email protected]

© 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release.

Geomagnetic storm to bring northern lights to central US

Interstellar raises major Series F funding to expand launch and satellite business

Atomic 6 debris shields selected for Portal Space Systems mission

Russia says US has not released crew from detained tanker

Inside China's buzzing AI scene year after DeepSeek shock

EU wants to keep Chinese suppliers out of critical infrastructure

Almost half of Kyiv without heat, power, after Russian attack

Denmark proposes NATO surveillance mission for Greenland

Military aircraft to arrive in Greenland for 'long-planned' activities: US-Canadian command

Heavy snow in US strands drivers in 100-vehicle crash

Chile wildfires rage for third day, entire towns wiped out

Death toll from floods rises in Mozambique, South Africa

All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.