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Kyoto Prize Laureate Selection Processes

Every year, The Inamori Foundation selects internationally recognized authorities in each field of the three Kyoto Prize categories to serve as nominators. Laureates will be chosen only from among the pool of officially nominated candidates. The candidates thus nominated from around the world are reviewed by the Kyoto Prize Selection Organization, which consists of three Kyoto Prize Selection Committees (one for each category), three Kyoto Prize Committees (one for each category), and the Kyoto Prize Executive Committee. This three-tiered structure ensures strict impartiality, a primary concern of the Inamori Foundation.

The first screening is done by the Kyoto Prize Selection Committees, made up of leading authorities in each Prize field. Next, focusing on the recommendations of the Selection Committees while applying a wider range of criteria, the Kyoto Prize Committees choose ranked short lists of candidates. Finally, the Kyoto Prize Executive Committee selects the finalists in all three categories from a broader perspective, paying special attention to whether their achievements are in line with the philosophy of the Kyoto Prize. The Kyoto Prize Executive Committee submits the final list of laureates, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.

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MEMBERS OF THE 2011 KYOTO PRIZE SELECTION ORGANIZATION
(Affiliations are as of June 1, 2011)
KYOTO PRIZE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman
Nakanishi, Shigetada (Director, Osaka Bioscience Institute)
 
Amari, Shun-ichi (Senior Advisor, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN)
 
Hironaka, Heisuke (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
 
Honjo, Tasuku (Executive Member, Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office)
 
Iwasa, Yoh (Professor, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University)
 
Kajiyama, Tisato (President, Fukuoka Women's University)
 
Noyori, Ryoji (President, RIKEN)
 
Sakaki, Hiroyuki (President, Toyota Technological Institute)
 
Sato, Humitaka (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
 
Sengen, Ryuichiro (President, Institute of Industrial Property Law)
 
Suematsu, Yasuharu (Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of Technology)
 
Takashina, Shuji (Director, Ohara Museum of Art)
 
Washida, Kiyokazu (President, Osaka University)


KYOTO PRIZE COMMITTEE
1. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Chairman
Kajiyama, Tisato (President, Fukuoka Women's University)
 
Gonokami, Makoto (Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)
 
Hirano, Shin-ichi (President, National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation)
 
Kimizuka, Nobuo (Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University)
 
Kitazawa, Koichi (President, Japan Science and Technology Agency)
 
Maeda, Mizuo (Chief Scientist, Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN)
 
Murakami, Masanori (Vice Chancellor, The Ritsumeikan Trust)
 
Yokoyama, Naoki (Fellow, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.)

2. BASIC SCIENCES
Chairman
Sato, Humitaka (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
 
Kaifu, Norio (Professor, The Open University of Japan)
 
Kamide, Yohsuke (Professor Emeritus, Nagoya University)
 
Koyama, Katsuji (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
 
Matsui, Takafumi (Director, Planetary Exploration Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology)
 
Sato, Katsuhiko (President, National Institutes of Natural Sciences)
 
Toriumi, Mitsuhiro (Specially Appointed Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
 
Yoden, Shigeo (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University)

3. ARTS AND PHILOSOPHY
Chairman
Takashina, Shuji (Director, Ohara Museum of Art)
 
Kawamoto, Saburo (Literary and Film Critic)
 
Kotoda, Chieko (Film and Theater Critic)
 
Matsuoka, Kazuko (Translator and Theater Critic)
 
Miura, Masashi (Literary and Dance Critic)
 
Nagai, Taeko (Chairperson, Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute)
 
Tsuchiya, Yoshio (Film Critic)
 
Watanabe, Tamotsu (Theater Critic)


KYOTO PRIZE SELECTION COMMITTEE
1. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Chairman
Murakami, Masanori (Vice Chancellor, The Ritsumeikan Trust)
 
Hashimoto, Kazuhito (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)
 
Maekawa, Sadamichi (Director, Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency)
 
Noda, Susumu (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)
 
Sakaki, Hiroyuki (President, Toyota Technological Institute)
 
Takayanagi, Kunio (Professor, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology)
 
Tamao, Kohei (Director, Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN)
 
Tsutsui, Tetsuo (Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University)

2. BASIC SCIENCES
Chairman
Koyama, Katsuji (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University)
 
Fukui, Yasuo (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University)
 
Hanawa, Kimio (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University)
 
Nagahara, Hiroko (Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)
 
Sasaki, Misao (Professor, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University)
 
Shibata, Kazunari (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University)
 
Taira, Asahiko (Executive Director, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)
 
Yamagata, Toshio (Dean, School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

3. ARTS AND PHILOSOPHY
Chairman
Nagai, Taeko (Chairperson, Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute)
 
Iwamoto, Kenji (Professor, Graduate School of Arts, Nihon University)
 
Nagano, Yuki (Dance Critic)
 
Nishido, Kojin (Theater Critic)
 
Nuki, Shigeto (Professor, School of Letters, Senshu University)
 
Ohzasa, Yoshio (Theater Critic)
 
Sato, Tadao (President, Japan Academy of Moving Images)
 
Uekusa, Nobukazu (Director, Uzumasa Co., Ltd.)