Kazuo Shinozaki designated Person of Cultural Merit

Dr. Kazuo Shinozaki, Director of the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), has been designated as a Person of Cultural Merit. This award is intended to “praise and honor those persons with outstanding contributions to the advancement and development of Japanese culture.”

Dr. Shinozaki received the award for his contributions to the development of plant molecular biology and applied research in the area of plant science. He helped to elucidate the environmental stress response and mechanism of acquired resistance of plants at the molecular level, discovering key factors such as transcription factors, signaling factors, and hormone controlling factors, using genomic methods. In addition, he worked to uncover the mechanisms of the signaling networks that connect them, and opened the way for the application of knowledge derived from this basic research to crop breeding.

Upon hearing of the award, Dr. Shinozaki said, “It was a wonderful surprise for me. I am truly honored that my research on the environmental stress response and mechanism of acquired resistance in plants, which I started while at RIKEN, has been positively evaluated. I would like to thank all my collaborators. The award has renewed my drive to contribute further to the development of science.”

The award ceremony will be held on November 4 in Tokyo.