Nobel laureate Hideki Shirakawa and five others were awarded this year's Order of Culture by the Emperor at the Imperial Palace on Culture Day on Friday.
The five other recipients of the award were sinologist Tadao Ishikawa, 78, leather craftswoman Fukuko Okubo, 81, calligrapher Kason Sugioka, 87, organic chemist Ryoji Noyori, 62, and actress Isuzu Yamada, 83.
It is the first time that two women have received the award in one year.