Overview
- The government announced eight recipients of the 2025 Culture Medal: Sadaharu Oh, Kataoka Nizaemon, Kawashima Yasunaru, Susumu Kitagawa, Kazuhiko Komatsu, Junko Koshino, Nobuo Tsuji, and Hisashi Yamamoto.
- Twenty-one People of Cultural Merit were selected, including Masako Nozawa, Yanagiya Sankyō, Shigeru Ban, Hideki Noda, Reiko Ikemura, and other figures across the arts, academia, and sport.
- Masako Nozawa became the first voice actor chosen as a Person of Cultural Merit, and the number of women matched last year’s record of six.
- The Culture Medal investiture will be held on November 3 at the Imperial Palace, followed by a November 4 recognition ceremony for Persons of Cultural Merit at a Tokyo hotel.
- Nobel chemistry laureate Susumu Kitagawa received the Culture Medal and was concurrently named a Person of Cultural Merit, while Chubu University–linked honorees include chemist Hisashi Yamamoto and polymer chemist Mitsuo Sawamoto.