Order of Culture award ceremony

Order of Culture award ceremony

Novelist and historian Nanami Shiono (C, R) receives the prestigious Order of Culture medal from Emperor Naruhito during a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2023.

Emperor, empress attend annual New Year's lecture

Emperor, empress attend annual New Year's lecture

TOKYO, Japan - This pool photo shows an annual New Year's lecture being held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 10, with Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and other imperial family members in attendance. Hiroshi Shiono, professor emeritus of law at the University of Tokyo, Junjiro Kanamori, director of the International Institute for Advanced Studies and an expert on material science, and Koichiro Tsunewaki, president of Fukui Prefectural University and an expert on genetics, gave lectures at the event called ''Koshohajime-no-gi.''

Order of Culture recipients honored at Imperial Palace

Order of Culture recipients honored at Imperial Palace

Recipients of the 2015 Order of Culture pose for a commemorative photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2015, after an awarding ceremony. (From L) neuroscientist Shigetada Nakanishi, optical communications scientist Yasuharu Suematsu, dyeing and weaving artist Fukumi Shimura, legal scholar Hiroshi Shiono, and Satoshi Omura and Takaaki Kajita, winners of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and Physics, respectively. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

2 Nobel laureates among others receiving Order of Culture award

2 Nobel laureates among others receiving Order of Culture award

Recipients of this year's Order of Culture -- (From L) Neuroscientist Shigetada Nakanishi, optical communications scientist Yasuharu Suematsu, dyeing and weaving expert Fukumi Shimura, legal scholar Hiroshi Shiono, and Satoshi Omura and Takaaki Kajita, winners of the 2015 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine and physics respectively -- pose for a group photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2015, following the award ceremony with Emperor Akihito in attendance. Another recipient, leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai, was absent from the ceremony due to his tight stage schedule. Japan's top award for contributions to the development of culture is given annually on Nov. 3, Japan's Culture Day, a national holiday. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

Tourists buy snacks being marketed in celebration of new Japanese Emperor Naruhito's enthronement in Cape Shiono -- the southernmost point on Japan's main island of Honshu -- in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on May 1, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

People visit Cape Shiono -- the southernmost point on Japan's main island of Honshu -- in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, on May 1, 2019, to greet the first sunrise of Japan's new imperial era Reiwa. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

Japan's new era under Emperor Naruhito

People visit Cape Shiono -- the southernmost point on Japan's main island of Honshu -- in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, on May 1, 2019, to greet the first sunrise of Japan's new imperial era Reiwa. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo