Every Japanese Nobel laureate (1949–2025)
The top 3 according to 6 votes from people: Yasunari Kawabata · Eisaku Satō · Kenzaburō Ōe. (Updated Jan 13, 2026.)
From Hideki Yukawa in 1949 to Shimon Sakaguchi (Medicine) and Susumu Kitagawa (Chemistry) in 2025: the 27 laureates who held Japanese nationality when they won, plus Nihon Hidankyo, Peace Prize 2024, in order of award.
Automatically translated (original in 日本語). See the original
Top 28
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1
Yasunari Kawabata
1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, for his narrative mastery, for works such as The Izu Dancer and Snow Country.
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2
Eisaku Satō
1974 Nobel Prize in Peace, for the Three Non-Nuclear Principles.
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3
Kenzaburō Ōe
1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, for works such as A Personal Matter and The Silent Cry.
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4
Makoto Kobayashi
2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, for the origin of the broken CP symmetry (Kobayashi–Maskawa theory).
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5
Osamu Shimomura
2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP).
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6
Shimon Sakaguchi
2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.
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7
Hideki Yukawa
1949 Nobel Prize in Physics, for prediction of the existence of mesons.
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8
Sin-Itiro Tomonaga
1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
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9
Leo Esaki
1973 Nobel Prize in Physics, for experimental discovery of tunnelling in semiconductors.
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10
Kenichi Fukui
1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for theories on the course of chemical reactions.
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11
Susumu Tonegawa
1987 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for discovering the genetic principle behind antibody diversity.
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12
Hideki Shirakawa
2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for discovery and development of conductive polymers.
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13
Ryōji Noyori
2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for chirally catalysed asymmetric reactions.
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14
Masatoshi Koshiba
2002 Nobel Prize in Physics, for pioneering the detection of cosmic neutrinos.
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15
Koichi Tanaka
2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for methods to identify and analyse biological macromolecules.
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16
Toshihide Maskawa
2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, for the origin of the broken CP symmetry (Kobayashi–Maskawa theory).
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17
Ei-ichi Negishi
2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for palladium-catalysed cross couplings.
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18
Akira Suzuki
2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for palladium-catalysed cross couplings.
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19
Shinya Yamanaka
2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for creating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
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20
Isamu Akasaki
2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, for invention of the blue light-emitting diode.
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21
Hiroshi Amano
2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, for invention of the blue light-emitting diode.
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22
Takaaki Kajita
2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, for discovery of neutrino oscillations.
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23
Satoshi Ōmura
2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for a new therapy against parasitic roundworm infections.
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24
Yoshinori Ohsumi
2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for discovering the mechanisms of autophagy.
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25
Tasuku Honjo
2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for cancer therapy by inhibiting negative immune regulation.
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26
Akira Yoshino
2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for development of lithium-ion batteries.
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27
Nihon Hidankyo
2024 Nobel Prize in Peace, for the atomic-bomb survivors' efforts for a world free of nuclear weapons.
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28
Susumu Kitagawa
2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for development of metal–organic frameworks.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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