Overview of the Awards Ceremony for 24th Asia Pacific Research Prize

Overview of the Prize and Selection Process

The Asia Pacific Research Prize was established in 2001 to reward outstanding dissertations written in the field of humanities or social sciences about the Asia Pacific region. The dissertations are written by Japanese, international students and others who have completed post-graduate studies and received doctorates from Japanese graduate schools. This year we invited students who received their doctorates after March 2020 to compete for the prize. This includes students who completed their coursework without degree after March 2020, and then received their doctorates afterward. As a result of the strict selection process conducted by the Selection Committee on the theses recommended and gathered from graduate schools all over Japan, Dr. Zhou Jun's dissertation, “The Nerves of Chinese Communist Party: An Analysis of the Origin, Structure and Function of the Information Gathering and Processing System (1940s-1950s)”, and Dr. Zahra Moharramipour's dissertation “Expanding the Concept of the ‘Orient’ in Early Twentieth Century Japan: Perceptions of Persia among Ito Chuta and the Japanese Architects, Art Historians and Historians” were selected for a main prize. In addition, Dr. Yoko Dan's dissertation, “The Republic of China’s Claims for War Reparations from Japan in the Context of International Relations During and After WWII”, and Dr. Madoka Nishiura's dissertation, “Listening to Signing: The Deafness and the Poetics of Bodies in Bengkala, Bali” were selected for a Commendation.

Overview of the Awards Ceremony

At the Awards Ceremony on July 31, 2025, the prizes were presented to the winners by Awaji Conference Representative Director Minoru Makimura, and the prize winners received an award certificate as well as prize money. After each winner gave a speech, the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Dr. Yutaka Katayama explained how and why the selections were made.