Tokyo, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)–Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo Co. executive fellow who created a famous video game character, Mario, and seven others will receive Japan’s fiscal 2026 Order of Culture, the government said Friday. Miyamoto, 73, is the first person from the video game industry to receive the honor. The other recipients include lighting designer Motoko Ishii, 88, and Kenso Soai, 76, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The government also selected 21 people as Person of Cultural Merit, including jazz saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, 93, and animation film director Rintaro, whose real name is Shigeyuki Hayashi, 85. Rintaro is known for films including “Galaxy Express 999.” The Order of Culture will be presented by the Emperor at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3. A ceremony honoring the Person of Cultural Merit will be held at a hotel in Tokyo on Nov. 4. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
