Ichiro Tanaka Awards Presented to Professor Takanori Iwasaki of Kyushu University for Chemical Recycling of Non-Biodegradable Polymer Materials Using Hydrogen Transport, and Professor Toshinori Fujie of Institute of Science Tokyo for Development of Biodegradable Nanosheet Electrodes Composed of Inkjet-Printed Gold Wires and Their Application to Plant Health Systems
TOKYO, Mar 31, 2026 – (ACN Newswire) – The TANAKA Memorial Foundation’s Representative Director, Hideya Okamoto, announced the recipients of the FY2025 Precious Metals Research Grants.
Following a rigorous screening process, this year’s Ichiro Tanaka Awards, for 3 million yen each, were presented to Professor Takanori Iwasaki of Kyushu University and Professor Toshinori Fujie of Institute of Science Tokyo. In addition, four research projects received the Innovative Precious Metals Award, and five KIRAMEKI Awards were presented.
The TANAKA Memorial Foundation undertakes programs designed to foster developments in new precious metal fields while contributing to the advancement of science, technology, and socioeconomics for the overall enrichment of society. The research grant program was launched in FY1999 and has continued each year since with the goal of supporting the various challenges of the “new world opened up by precious metals.” With “Forging a better tomorrow with ‘Hirameki’ and ‘Kirameki’” adopted as the catchphrase, applications were invited for research and development themes that contribute toward the continued creation of a better future using the creativity of researchers and the potential of precious metals. A total of 244 applications were received for this year, the program’s 27th year, and a total of 27 research grants for a combined total of 19.8 million yen were awarded.
The names of the recipients of the Ichiro Tanaka Award, their research, and the reasons for their selection are below.
Ichiro Tanaka Award
Professor Takanori Iwasaki of Kyushu University
Chemical Recycling of Recalcitrant Polymer Materials Using Hydrogen Transport
This research seeks to address the degradation of polyurethane using a proprietary precious metal complex catalyst. It has been demonstrated that polyurethane can be decomposed by hydrogen gas. As the development of chemical recycling methods for polyurethane used in cushioning materials such as automotive seats and mattresses is essential for promoting the reuse of waste plastics, it was highly rated as research and development that makes a significant contribution to the realization of an environmentally sustainable society.
Ichiro Tanaka Award
Professor Toshinori Fujie of Institute of Science Tokyo
Development of Biodegradable Nanosheet Electrodes Composed of Inkjet-Printed Gold Wires and Their Application to Plant Health Measurement Systems
This research measures changes in the surface potential of plant leaves in real time by formation of an array of gold electrodes on a polymer ultrathin film substrate. By investigating materials with minimal impact on living organisms, it is expected that raw data can be obtained from plants. Furthermore, the research was highly rated for its potential to reveal not only changes in bio-surface potential in plants but also changes in various conditions in animals.
Four Innovative Precious Metals Awards, 16 HIRAMEKI Awards, and five KIRAMEKI Awards were also granted. The recipients and an overview of the Precious Metals Research Grants are indicated below. Applications for the FY2026 research grants are scheduled to open in the fall.
Overview of the 2025 Precious Metals Research Grants
[Conditions]
New research and development themes—either using precious metals or that can be applied to precious metals—that contribute to the creation of a sustainable future, with research content that falls under any of the following.
– New technology related to precious metals (new materials, processing methods, process development, etc.)
– Research that brings about innovative evolution in product development (new functions, process development, computational science, etc.)
– Research and development of new products using precious metals
* Precious metal refers to eight elements of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.
* If development is conducted jointly (or planned to be) with other material manufacturers, please indicate so.
* Products that have already been commercialized, put to practical use, or that are planned are not eligible.
[Grant Amounts] (Maximum amounts from a grant pool of 20 million yen)
– Umekichi Tanaka Award: 10,000,000 yen
– Ichiro Tanaka Award: 3,000,000 yen
– Innovative Precious Metals Award: 1,000,000 yen
– HIRAMEKI Award: 300,000 yen
– KIRAMEKI Award: 1,000,000 yen
* The grant amount is treated as a scholarship donation.
* Awards may not be granted in some cases.
[Eligible Candidates]
– Personnel who work for educational institutions in Japan (universities, graduate schools, or technical colleges) or public and related research institutions may participate.
– As long as the applicant is affiliated with a research institution in Japan, the base of activity can be in Japan or overseas.
– KIRAMEKI Awards are for researchers under the age of 37 as of April 1, 2025.
[Application Period]
– 9 am, September 1, 2025 (Mon) – 5 pm, November 28, 2025 (Fri)
[Inquiries Concerning the Research Grant Program]
Precious Metals Research Grants Office
Global Marketing / R&D Supervisory Department, TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.
2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0025
E-mail: joseikin@ml.tanaka.co.jp
TANAKA Memorial Foundation website: https://tanaka-foundation.or.jp
TANAKA Memorial Foundation
Organization Name: TANAKA Memorial Foundation
Address: 2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hideya Okamoto (Special Advisor, TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd.)
Incorporated: 2015
Purpose of Business: To provide grants for research related to precious metals to contribute to the development and cultivation of new fields for precious metals, and to the development of science, technology, and the social economy.
Areas of Business:
– Provision of grants for scientific and technological research related to precious metals.
– Recognition of excellent analysis of precious metals and holding of seminars and other events.
TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: 2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Koichiro Tanaka, CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918
Capital: 500 million yen
Employees: 2,862 (Including overseas subsidiaries) (December 31, 2025)
Sales: 419,177,145,000 yen (FY2025)
Main businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products.
URL: https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com
(TANAKA Industrial Precious Metal Materials Portal)
Press Inquiries
TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.
https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-for-media/
Press Release: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/20260331_EN.pdf