Tohoku University’s Professor Gets Among The Winners Of The 2023 Japan Prize

Masataka Nakazawa, a specially-appointed professor at Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), has been named a co-winner of the 2023 Japan Prize in the field of Electronics, Information and Communication.

He shares the honour with Kazuo Hagimoto, chief researcher at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. The award recognises their contributions to global long-distance, high-capacity optical fiber networks through the development of semiconductor laser pumped optical amplifiers.


Nakazawa is also professor emeritus at the university’s Research Institute of Electrical Communication.

“Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Nakazawa, whose achievements support the foundations of today’s optical communications and have brought about significant developments in the field worldwide,” said Tohoku University President Hideo Ohno. He added that Nakazawa’s award is “a great honour for our university, and an inspiration to all students, faculty and staff.”


Two other recipients of this year’s Japan Prize are Professor Gero Miesenböck and Professor Karl Deisseroth, co-winners in the field of Life Science. They are being recognized for their development of methods that use genetically addressable light-sensitive membrane proteins to unravel neural circuit function.

The winners of this year’s Japan Prize were chosen from 327 candidates nominated by 15,500 prominent scientists and engineers from around the world. The award ceremony will take place in Tokyo in April.

The Japan Prize was established in 1983 as a way to recognize scientists and engineers from around the world, who have made creative and dramatic achievements that help progress their fields, and who have contributed significantly to realizing global peace and prosperity.

Researchers in all fields of science and technology are eligible for the award, with two fields selected each year based on current trends in scientific and technological development.