Japan is considering conferring the People's Honor Award to two shogi and go champions after the pair won all major titles in their respective games, the government's top spokesman said Wednesday.
If so, the two — famed shogi player Yoshiharu Habu and go master Yuta Iyama — would be the first recipients of the award in the traditional board games. Shogi is known as Japanese chess.
Habu, who recently became the first-ever professional shogi player to win seven eisei lifetime titles, said at a news conference in Tokyo that he feels it's a "great honor that the government is even considering (the) award."