The Japan Academy ( Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is currently an extraordinary organ of the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

with its headquarters located in

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Election to the Academy is considered the highest distinction a scholar can achieve, and members enjoy life tenure and an annual monetary stipend.

History

In 1873, Meiroku-sha (Meiroku Society) was founded. The main people of Meiroku-sha involved in Meiroku-sha were from Kaiseijo (later transformed into University of Tokyo) and Keio Gijuku. In an effort to replicate the institutional landscape found in many Western nations, the leaders of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

sought to create a national academy of scholars and scientists modelled to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1879, Nishi Amane was made the head of what was then called the Tokyo Academy. In 1906 it was renamed the Imperial Academy, and in 1947 it was renamed the Japan Academy.

Prizes awarded

The Imperial Prize and Japan Academy Prize are awarded to persons who have achieved notable research landmarks or who have authored outstanding academic papers or books. One of the Academy's most important functions involves conferring these prizes, which have been awarded annually since 1911. Since 1949, these prize award ceremonies have been graced by the presence of HIM the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

; and since 1990, both the Emperor and Empress have attended.Japan Academy
Activities
Japan Academy Prize
From 1911 until 1947, the academy annually conferred the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy (''Gakushiin Onshi Shō''). Amongst past winners are Hideyo Noguchi (1915) and Tasuku Honjo (1996). After 1947, the name of the award was changed to Japan Academy Prize (''Gakushiin Shō''). Duke of Edinburgh Prize
In 1987, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh suggested that the Academy take responsibility for conferring the biennial Duke of Edinburgh Prize to a Japanese scientist with outstanding achievements in the area of wildlife protection and species preservation. In addition to this specific award, some 75 prizes and medals are associated with The Duke of Edinburgh.Dukes of the UK
Prizes
Japan Academy Medal
Since 2004, the Academy has annually conferred the Japan Academy Medal.

Timeline

The early-Meiji era Tokyo Academy was institutionally re-organized into an Imperial Academy in 1906; and this institution was renamed the Japan Academy in 1947:Japan Academy
History
* 1879 The Tokyo Academy established; ''Tokyo Academy Magazine'' (Vol. 1, No. 1). * 1890 Tokyo Academy Statute promulgated. * 1895 Honorary Membership established. * 1906 Statute of the Imperial Academy promulgated; joined '' Internationale Assoziation der Akademien'' (IAA). * 1911 Imperial Prize and Imperial Academy Prize established; first award ceremony. * 1912 ''Proceedings of the Imperial Academy'' (Vol. 1, No. 1). * 1919 Imperial Academy joined

Union Académique Internationale The Union Académique Internationale (UAI)—in English, International Union of Academies—is a federation of many national academies and international academies from more than 60 countries all over the world which works in the field of Humaniti ...

(UAI). * 1925 Statute of the Imperial Academy amended (increased membership). * 1942 ''Transactions of the Imperial Academy'' (Vol. 1, No. 1). * 1947 Imperial Academy renamed Japan Academy. * 1949 Japan Academy institutionally linked to Science Council of Japan. * 1956 Law of the Japan Academy promulgated; Japan Academy de-linked from Science Council of Japan. * 1971 Exchange program with foreign academies started. * 1983 Visiting program of Honorary Members started. * 1984 First public lecture meeting was held. * 1987 Duke of Edinburgh Prize was adopted. * 2004 Japan Academy Medal established.

President

President of the Tokyo Academy

President of the Imperial Academy

President of the Japan Academy

Counterparts in other countries

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

* Romanian Academy * Hungarian Academy of Sciences *

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

* Bulgarian Academy of Sciences * Academy of Sciences, Institute of France *

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

* National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Korea * Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities

Notes

References

* Kita, Atsushi. (2005)
''Dr. Noguchi's Journey: A Life of Medical Search and Discovery''
(tr., Peter Durfee). Tokyo:

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

. (cloth)

External links

* {{Authority control

Extraordinary organs (Japan) Government agencies established in 1879 Ueno Park