Photo: 日本学士院 / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on August 3, 1959, Koichi Tanaka is from Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Koichi Tanaka is credited as a chemist, university teacher and engineer. The age as of 2026 is 67. Schooling on record includes Toyama Chubu High school and Tohoku University. Awards on record include Order of Culture (2002), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2002), Keio Medical Science Prize (2002) and 1 more.
My Take
The 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry produced one of the great upsets in the award's history. Koichi Tanaka, born 1959 in Toyama and educated at Tohoku University, was not a professor. He was a working engineer at a company, and he shared the prize with John Fenn and Kurt Wüthrich for developing a method of analyzing biological macromolecules by mass spectrometry. That technique underpins an enormous amount of modern protein science — if you have ever heard of proteomics, this is part of its foundation. What made the moment unforgettable in Japan was Tanaka himself. He appeared genuinely bewildered by the news, faced the press in visible discomfort, and made no attempt to perform the role of a laureate. The same year brought the Order of Culture, recognition as a Person of Cultural Merit, and the Keio Medical Science Prize. He took none of it as a cue to become a public figure. He went back to the bench. In a world thick with people inflating modest achievements, here was the exact inverse, and it is why the affection for him in Japan has never really faded.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Koichi Tanaka
- Name (Japanese)
- 田中耕一
- Reading
- たなか こういち
- Born
- August 3, 1959 (age 67)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Boar
- Origin
- Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- chemist / university teacher / engineer / geographer
2. Background
- High school
- Toyama Chubu High school
- University
- Tohoku University
Awards & achievements
- 2002 Order of Culture
- 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 2002 Keio Medical Science Prize
- 2002 Person of Cultural Merit
3. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koichi%20Tanaka
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%94%B0%E4%B8%AD%E8%80%95%E4%B8%80
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110963
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-08-07
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Koichi Tanaka born?
Born August 3, 1959 (age 67).
Where is Koichi Tanaka from?
Koichi Tanaka is from Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan.
What does Koichi Tanaka do?
Koichi Tanaka works as chemist, university teacher, engineer, geographer.
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