On April 23, 2014, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan arrived at the National Theatre of Japan to attend the 2014 Japan Prize awards ceremony.

According to the official website for the Japan Prize the award is presented “…annually to scientists and engineers from around the world who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science and technology, thereby furthering the cause of peace and prosperity of mankind.”

The winners of the 2014 Japan Prize went to Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Dr. C. David Allis from Rockefeller University.

Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu received the award for his “…pioneering research on semiconductor lasers for high-capacity long-distance optical fiber communication.”  While Dr. C. David Allis received the award for his “…discovery of histone modifications as fundamental regulators of gene expression.”