Emperor Akihito bestowed the Order of Culture, Japan's highest honor, on six recipients Saturday during a Culture Day ceremony at the Imperial Palace, including new Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka and globally acclaimed film director Yoji Yamada.
The other four honorees were international law scholar Shigeru Oda, 88, art critic Shuji Takashina, 80, traditional Japanese painter Toshio Matsuo, 86, and Yasuyuki Yamada, 81, an expert on plant cell and molecular biology.
Representing the recipients at the ceremony, Oda, said they would each continue to do their best in their areas of expertise.