2 Nobel Prize Laureates Express Concern over Decline in Number of Science Papers by Japanese Researchers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, November 12, 2025

KYOTO — Shimon Sakaguchi and Susumu Kitagawa, the two Japanese scientists awarded the Nobel Prize this year, expressed concern over the decline in the number of science papers by Japanese scientists during a talk event at their alma mater, Kyoto University, on Monday.

Sakaguchi, 74, a specially appointed professor at the University of Osaka, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and Kitagawa, 74, a distinguished professor at Kyoto University, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

At the event, they also called for more support for scientists and increased research funds.

According to the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, Japan is lagging behind in the country rankings for highly cited papers in recent years.

“The number of researchers in young generations is shrinking,” Kitagawa said. “There’s a need for general support for them.”

Sakaguchi agreed and added that researchers today have less free time they can use for their research than in the past.

“There’re not enough core funding,” he said.

They both entered Kyoto University in 1970. Kitagawa majored in engineering, and Sakaguchi was a medicine major, so they had no contact with each other during their student days. As both of them happen to love reading, they happily discussed at the event what they read when they were students.

“Shortly after entering the university, I just looked for interesting books to read,” Kitagawa said. “I also took on a challenge to study languages such as Russian and French. I owe very much to books that made me able to think about various things. I hope young people will spend time reading.”

Sakaguchi said he, too, read books on various fields such as psychology and psychiatric medicine.

“There were times when I wondered whether I should become a clinician or a researcher. I eventually decided to become a researcher in immunology, which I found interesting after studying it on my own,” he said.