Kazuo Shinozaki receives the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star

On November 3, it was announced that RIKEN Honorary Scientist and Honorary Scientific Advisor Kazuo Shinozaki would be conferred the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star at a ceremony held at the Imperial Palace.

Dr. Shinozaki has been a world leader in introducing molecular biological techniques to help elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind the acquisition of the environmental stress response and tolerance in plants, among other significant achievements, and is a very highly cited researcher in the field of plant science.

He received his PhD from Nagoya University’s Institute of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science. In 1989, he was appointed Director of the Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory at RIKEN (Tsukuba). He served as director of the RIKEN Plant Science Center and subsequently the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science.

Dr. Shinozaki said, “It is a great honor for me to receive the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star. I am happy that my research results and related activities have been highly evaluated. I believe that these research results were made possible thanks to the many researchers I worked with, and those who supported the research. Science progresses based on the efforts of many of our predecessors. I would like to express my gratitude to my mentors, who have guided me on the path of science, and to my family, who have supported me.”

The ceremony to confer the award was held on November 8, 2023.