The Nation’s Honor Prize is an award given by the Prime Minister to people who have distinguished themselves in various fields such as sport, music or cinema. On March 17, 2023, wheelchair tennis player Kunieda Shingo will become the latest recipient.
Pay homage to heroic citizens
Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo established the People’s Honor Award in 1977 to honor individuals who are highly regarded for accomplishing feats that have been an inspiration to society. The first to receive it was professional baseball player Oh Sadaharu after he broke the career home run record held by American hitter Hank Aaron.
On March 3, 2023, the government decided to make wheelchair tennis player Kunieda Shingo the latest recipient of the award. Kunieda, who achieved a professional Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam majors as well as the Paralympic Games, is the first Para athlete to receive the award. During his brilliant career, he accumulated 28 victories in singles and 22 in doubles, and won 4 Paralympic gold medals in singles and doubles. He retired while still atop the world rankings. (See our article: Wheelchair tennis legend Kunieda Shingo announces his retirement)
Including Kunieda, the Nation’s Honor Award was given to 27 people, 12 of them posthumously. In 2011, moreover, the women’s national football team, nicknamed Nadeshiko Japan, was the first group to receive this award. Kunieda is the first recipient under the government of Kishida Fumio.
If we classify the individual recipients by socio-professional category, those of professional baseball players, actors and composers had four each; those of sumo wrestlers, singers or wrestlers two each; those of manga authors, film directors, judoka, adventurers, marathon runners, goplayers of shogifigure skaters one each, plus a wheelchair tennis player.
Although the award is generally held in high regard, on several occasions nominees have declined the honour. This is particularly the case of baseball player Fukumoto Yutaka, designated in 1983 after setting a new world record of 939 base steals during a career, and of the family of Koseki Yûji after the death, which occurred in 1989, of the famous composer. Baseball legend Suzuki Ichiro declined the award twice, in 2001 and again in 2004. The first time, he justified his decision by saying he felt honored but his career had not come to an end and that he still had progress to make as a player.
Major League Baseball star Ohtani Shohei also waived the award in 2021, saying it was too early.
1. Oh Sadaharu [joueur de baseball] September 5, 1977
Set a new record of 756 home runs completed in a career.
2. Who Masao [compositeur] August 4, 1978 (posthumously)
Performance for the big screen.
3. Hasegawa Kazuo [acteur] April 19, 1984 (posthumously)
Performance for the big screen.
4. Naomi Uemura [aventurier] April 19, 1984 (posthumously)
Various feats, including climbing the highest mountains on five continents. (Related article: Uemura Naomi: an outstanding, timeless adventurer, conquering the mountains and the poles)
5. Yasuhiro Yamashita [judoka] October 9, 1984
Notable achievements during his career
6. Kinugasa Sachio [joueur de baseball] June 22, 1987
Broke the world record of 2,130 consecutive games played held by Lou Gehrig.
7. Misora Hibari [chanteuse] July 6, 1989 (posthumously)
Inspired the nation through his songs.
8. Chiyonofuji Mitsugu [lutteur de sumô] September 29, 1989
Set records for the majority of wins in his career.
9. Fujiyama Ichirô [chanteur] May 28, 1992
Brought hope and encouragement to society through his beautifully expressive singing.
10. Hasegawa Machiko [mangaka] July 28, 1992 (posthumously)
Enriched and entertained postwar society through his comic strip Sazae-san.
11. Hattori Ryochi [compositeur] February 26, 1993 (posthumously)
Moved and inspired audiences with his pop music compositions.
12. Atsumi Kiyoshi [acteur] September 3, 1996 (posthumously)
Entertained and moved audiences with his empathy as the character Tora-san in the film series Otoko wa tsurai yo. (Related article: “How hard it is to be a man”: Tora-san, the wandering Tokyoite)
13. Yoshida Tadashi [compositeur] July 7, 1998 (posthumously)
created moving and inspiring songs with a melody of their own.
14. Akira Kurosawa [réalisateur de films] 1is October 1998 (posthumously)
Made his contribution to national and international cinema through his many masterpieces. (Related article: Kurosawa Akira, Master of Masters of Cinema: An Ode to Justice and Love)
15. Takahashi Naoko [coureuse de marathon] October 30, 2000
Became the first Japanese athlete to receive a gold medal by winning the women’s marathon at the Olympic Games held in Sydney in 2000.
16. Endo Minoru [compositeur] January 23, 2009 (posthumously)
Composed countless moving and inspiring popular songs.
17. Mori Mitsuko [actrice] 1is July 2009
Played more than 2,000 lead roles in the play Hôrôki (Diary of a Wanderer).
18. Morishige Hisaya [acteur] December 22, 2009 (posthumously)
Outstanding performances throughout his career.
19. Nadeshiko Japan (Japan women’s national soccer team) [équipe de football] August 18, 2011
2011 FIFA World Cup champion. (Related article: How Nadeshiko Japan got to the top)
20. Saori Yoshida [lutteuse] November 7, 2012
Wrestling in the 55 kg category, she became the first athlete to win 13 consecutive world championships.
21. Taiho Kôki [lutteur de sumô] February 25, 2013 (posthumously)
Dominated the sumo world, winning a record (at the time) of 32 tournaments.
22. Nagashima Shigeo [joueur de baseball et dirigeant] 1is avril 2013
Inspired post-war society, together with Oh Sadaharu, as the Yomiuri Giants superstar.
23. Hideki Matsui [joueur de baseball] 1is avril 2013
Earned the most prestigious award helping the New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series.
24. Icho Kaori [lutteuse] October 20, 2016
A freestyle wrestler in the 58 kg category, she became the first athlete to win individual gold medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.
25. Habu Yoshiharu [joueur de shôgi] February 13, 2018
First person in the history of shogi to qualify as a lifetime holder of seven Grand Prix of shogi.
26. Iyama Yuta [joueur de go] February 13, 2018
first player of go to twice win all seven of the Grand Prizes of go.
27. Hanyû Yuzuru [patineur artistique] July 2, 2018
First figure skater in 66 years to win back-to-back gold at the Winter Olympics. (Related article: Turning pro: Hanyû Yuzuru reinvents the very definition of “figure skater”)
28. Kunieda Shingo [joueur de tennis en fauteuil roulant] 17 mars 2023
A leading wheelchair tennis player for many years, he has enhanced the image of parasports.
(Information available as of March 3, 2023)
(Banner photo: Kunieda Shingo serving during the final of the All Japan Wheelchair Tennis Championship on October 8, 2022. Jiji)
