Susumu Kitagawa, Distinguished Professor at Kyoto University, Japan. Source: Jiji EPA/Yonhap News. 

Japan is once again buzzing with excitement as a Japanese scholar has been named a Nobel laureate in Chemistry, following a win in Physiology or Medicine.

NHK broke the news that Susumu Kitagawa, a Distinguished Professor at Kyoto University, was one of the three Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureates, highlighting the announcement as "joyful news."

The broadcaster noted that Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, and on the 6th of this month, Shimon Sakaguchi, a Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University, was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

NHK added that this is the ninth time a Japanese scholar has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the first since Dr. Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei in 2019, marking a return to this achievement after six years.

The media also reported on the reactions of Kyoto University students upon hearing the news of Professor Kitagawa's award.

Kyodo News reported that Professor Kitagawa met with reporters near his laboratory and expressed his feelings, saying, "I am grateful. This is incredible."

Major daily newspapers including the Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) placed articles regarding Professor Kitagawa's Nobel Chemistry Prize at the top of their homepages, just as they did on the 6th when Professor Sakaguchi was announced as the Physiology or Medicine laureate.

Nikkei praised Professor Kitagawa, stating that he "achieved this feat through exceptional insight and intuition."

The Yomiuri Shimbun noted that Professor Kitagawa achieved this success following Professor Sakaguchi, and explained that the "Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOF)," which served as the reason for his award, "are highly regarded for their potential applications in various fields, such as natural gas storage and greenhouse gas separation."

Including four individuals who acquired foreign citizenship after being born in Japan, this is the 30th time a Japanese individual has received a Nobel Prize. There has been one Nobel Prize awarded to a Japanese organization, Nihon Hidankyo.

Counting those who acquired foreign citizenship, this is the fifth time that two or more Nobel laureates have emerged from Japan in a single year, and the first time in 10 years since 2015.

By category, the breakdown of Japan's Nobel Prize recipients is as follows: 12 in Physics, 9 in Chemistry, 6 in Physiology or Medicine, and 2 in Literature. For the Peace Prize, there is one individual and one organization. There have been no winners in Economics.

By era, the number of Japanese laureates has surged since 2000, as investments in basic science during the period of Japan's high economic growth began to bear fruit in earnest.

From 2000 to 2002, Japanese scholars won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for three consecutive years, and in 2002, Japan produced winners in both Chemistry and Physics. In 2008, four Japanese scholars, including one who acquired foreign citizenship, received Nobel Prizes in the same year.

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