Japanese scientist wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

A Japanese scientist will receive the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry^*1. His name is Kenso Soai. He is a professor emeritus^*2 at Tokyo University of Science, a university in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. The university announced the news on October 7. The prize winner was chosen by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the group in Sweden that picks the Nobel Prize winners in science.

Soai was born in 1950 in Hiroshima Prefecture, in the west of Japan. He studied science at the University of Tokyo and later received a doctor's degree^*3 in science. After that, he worked as a research fellow^*4 of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He also did research at the University of North Carolina in the United States. Then he became a professor at Tokyo University of Science. In 2012, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon, an award from the Japanese government.

The university says that reporters can ask for a press conference^*5 or an interview^*6 with Soai.

1. *1 chemistry: the science of what things are made of and how they change
2. *2 professor emeritus: a professor who has stopped working but keeps the title as an honor
3. *3 doctor's degree: the highest title a university gives to a student
4. *4 research fellow: a person who is paid to study a subject and find new things
5. *5 press conference: a meeting where someone answers questions from many reporters
6. *6 interview: a meeting where a reporter asks one person questions
7. research: careful study to find new things