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.

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