Japan’s Kitagawa, 2 Others Win 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)–The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Wednesday that it has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa, 74, special professor at Kyoto University, and two other researchers “for the development of metal-organic frameworks.” Thirty Japanese individuals have won Nobel prizes, including Kitagawa, University of Osaka professor Shimon Sakaguchi, 74, who was named one of the three winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday, and those who took U.S. nationality. Kitagawa is the ninth Japanese to receive the chemistry prize and the first since Akira Yoshino, 77, honorary fellow at major Japanese chemical maker Asahi Kasei Corp., won it in 2019. “I’m absolutely thrilled” Kitagawa said at a press conference held at Kyoto University, in the western Japan city of Kyoto. “I’ve been blessed with a good (research) environment,” he also said. “I would like to thank my colleagues and students, and researchers abroad (who supported me).” The other two winners of this year’s chemistry prize are Richard Robson, 88, professor at the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi, 60, professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The award ceremony is set to be held in Stockholm on Dec. 10. The prize money of 11 million Swedish krona will be divided equally among the three laureates. A metal-organic framework, or MOF, also known as porous coordination polymer, is a new material that could potentially help resolve environmental and energy issues. Porous materials are substances with a myriad of nano-sized holes, with activated carbon being a prime example. Such materials have long been used for water purification and other purposes. Zeolites, which form both naturally and artificially, are widely used, including for water purification and as catalysts in the chemical industry. Their holes, however, are uneven in size. In 1997, Kitagawa synthesized the world’s first MOF, with a structure that combines metal ions and organic molecules. MOFs have a uniform gap within their structure and can be freely designed according to purpose. A tweak of the size of the gap enables the absorption of specific gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen. The utilization of MOFs could make it possible to efficiently remove pollutants from the atmosphere and impurities from oil, and safely store and transport dangerous gases and hydrogen, which is expected to become a next-generation energy source. Efforts are underway to put the new material into practical use in hopes of solving environmental, resource and energy problems. “At the time, the common thinking is that something like this would break easily,” Kitagawa said at the press conference, referring to MOFs. “I think that my research was highly evaluated because I created materials with a strong structure that does not break.” Kitagawa said that it took more than 30 years to develop MOFs. “I had many difficulties, but being able to try new things is the best part of scientists, so I have enjoyed it,” he added. “I am very happy that my research will be recognized by the general public through the winning of the Nobel prize.” A native of Kyoto, Kitagawa completed a doctoral course at a Kyoto University graduate school in 1979. After working as assistant professor at Kindai University, professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University and professor at Kyoto University, Kitagawa became Kyoto University special professor in 2017. He became deputy head of the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study in 2020 and executive vice president of Kyoto University in 2024. He was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2011. People who learned from Kitagawa congratulated their mentor on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. “From the beginning, attention had not been high for the research field,” said Shigeyuki Masaoka, 48, professor at the University of Osaka’s Graduate School of Engineering, who learned from Kitagawa for five years from fiscal 1999 at the Kyoto University graduate school. “But his research helped the area grow bigger, and I am very happy that his work was evaluated with the Nobel prize,” Masaoka said. “Professor Kitagawa is easy to get along with, so I often sought advice from him,” said Ryotaro Matsuda, 48, professor at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Engineering, who received guidance from Kitagawa for five years from fiscal 2000. Matsuda thanked Kitagawa, saying that he “gave students opportunities to think freely.” Shinya Yamanaka, professor at Kyoto University’s iPS Cell Research and Application, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012, also commended Kitagawa. His research “has potential to transcend our imagination and gives inspirations to various research fields, such as life science and physics,” Yamanaka said. Japanese science and technology minister Toshiko Abe called Kitagawa and praised his winning of the Nobel prize. Asked for a message to young people aspiring to become scientists, Kitagawa said: “Chances are not something that you pray for, but something that you create by yourself. I want you to build yourself by working with people around you.” Abe also asked Kitagawa what support her ministry can offer to foster researchers. In response, Kitagawa said, “Firstly, we need to put weight on basic research.” “Measures to help young researchers secure enough time for their study are needed,” he continued. Noting that researchers do everything by themselves, Kitagawa said, “If measures to increase personnel to support research at universities are taken, young people will be able to vigorously engage in their research.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]