Former BDR Team Leader Shigeru Kuratani selected as Japan Academy Prize recipient

Mar. 21, 2025

Dr. Shigeru Kuratani, RIKEN Honorary Scientist and former BDR Team Leader, was named one of the recipients of this year’s Japan Academy Prize, for his longstanding research on “Developmental studies to elucidate the mechanism of morphological evolution in vertebrates”.

On receiving this Prize, Dr. Kuratani stated, “It is a great honor to receive this recognition. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone for their support, without which this would not have been possible. I will continue to promote research on morphology.”

The Japan Academy Prizes are awarded to up to nine persons every year who have achieved notable research landmarks or who have authored particularly outstanding academic papers or books. The prizes are awarded by the Japan Academy (Nippon Gakushi-in), operated under the auspices of the Japanese Ministy of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and was first established in 1879 by Yukichi Fukuzawa under the name Tokyo Academy. The Academy currently has 150 regular members, who are all selected upon the merits of their academic accomplishments.