-Grand Prize Awarded to TAKARA Kurayoshi, Japanese Historian-

Fukuoka City (Secretariat of Fukuoka Prize Committee) on Wednesday May 21 announced the laureates for the Fukuoka Prize 2025 designed to honor those who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of Asian studies and arts and culture.

The Grand Prize has been awarded to TAKARA Kurayoshi, a creator in the field of history who has broken ground in Ryukyu Islands studies on multiple fronts. The Academic Prize has been awarded to BAIK Young-seo, a South Korean scholar of contemporary history who considers East Asia from the perspectives of citizens and people. VO Trong Nghia, a Vietnamese architect who advocates environmentally and ecologically friendly architecture, has won the Arts and Culture Prize.

Fukuoka Prize 2025 Laureates: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100886/202505168939/_prw_PI1fl_COMj1g6L.png

Grand Prize

TAKARA Kurayoshi (History)

A creator in the field of history who has broken ground in Ryukyu Islands studies on multiple fronts.

Academic Prize

BAIK Young-seo (History)

A historian who is one of South Korea’s leading scholars of contemporary Chinese history.

Arts and Culture Prize

VO Trong Nghia (Architecture)

An architect who advocates environmentally and ecologically friendly architecture.

The Award Ceremony will be held on September 16, 2025. TAKARA’s and BAIK’s public lectures are scheduled for September 17, and VO’s for September 15. Archived recordings of events will be available online. Bookings for events will open in July. Advance bookings are mandatory & admission free.

About Fukuoka Prize

The prize is awarded by Fukuoka City for the purpose of its international contribution to Asia, honoring those who have made outstanding achievements in preservation and creation of unique and diverse Asian cultures. The prize was established in 1990 by Fukuoka City, which has played a significant role as Japan’s gateway for exchanges with the rest of the Asian region since ancient times. The prize marks its 35th anniversary this year.

The prize has been presented to 127 leaders from 28 countries and areas. Past laureates include Muhammad YUNUS from Bangladesh, who also received the Nobel Peace Prize; and NAKAMURA Tetsu from Japan, who took the lead in medical services, land reclamation and social welfare for the sick and vulnerable in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

https://fukuoka-prize.org/en