{
  "id": 17899386,
  "title": "Ceremony held for recipients of Japan’s Order of Culture",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/ceremony-held-for-recipients-of-japans-order-of-culture",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-03T03:07:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/11/03/japan/ceremony-order-of-culture/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Tuesday, an award ceremony took place at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to honor the recipients of Japan's Order of Culture for fiscal 2026. The government had announced the names of the eight awardees just a month prior. Seven of them attended the ceremony and were presented with the Order of Culture medals by Emperor Naruhito. Among the attendees were distinguished professor Kenso Soai from Tokyo University of Science, lighting designer Motoko Ishii, architect Toyoo Ito, biological science expert Tsuneyoshi Kuroiwa, French literature scholar Tetsuya Shiokawa, composer and former Cultural Affairs Agency Commissioner Shunichi Tokura, and immunologist Shigekazu Nagata. However, Shigeru Miyamoto, a 73-year-old executive fellow and representative director at game maker Nintendo who created popular games like the Super Mario series, was absent from the event. Culture Day in Japan marked the occasion for this ceremony.",
  "summary": "The government announced the names of the eight awardees, including Nobel laureate Kenso Soai and Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, last month.",
  "key_points": [
    "Eight recipients honored at Imperial Palace ceremony",
    "Emperor Naruhito presents medals to awardees",
    "Shigeru Miyamoto absent despite Nintendo's creation"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Honoring diverse figures from biological science to game design reinforces the state's role in defining the broad spectrum of intellectual and creative achievement within Japanese society.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}