Tasuku Honjo

To me, Tasuku Honjo represents the quiet heroism of basic science. Born in Kyoto in 1942 and trained at Kyoto University, he spent decades pursuing immunology, and his identification of PD-1 ultimately rewrote how we treat cancer, earning him the 2018 Nobel Prize among a glittering list of honors. But what truly moves me is not the medals; it is the patience. Research dismissed as impractical can, decades later, save millions of lives. Honjo embodies that long game, and I find his persistence far more inspiring than any single award. He is, to my mind, one of Japan's great minds.

Name (English)

Tasuku Honjo

Name (Japanese)

本庶佑

Reading

ほんじょ たすく

Born

January 27, 1942 (age 84)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aquarius / Horse

Origin

Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

immunologist / biochemist / university teacher / physician

High school

Yamaguchi Prefectural Ube High School

University

Kyoto University

Awards & achievements

• 2014 Tang Prize
• 1981 Asahi Prize
• 1996 Imperial Prize of Japan Academy
• 2000 Person of Cultural Merit
• 2012 Robert Koch Prize
• 2013 Order of Culture
• 2014 William B. Coley Award
• 2016 Keio Medical Science Prize

• Xhttps://x.com/HonjoTasuku
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasuku%20Honjo
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E5%BA%B6%E4%BD%91
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2395341

Tags

• Kyoto Prefecture
• immunologist
• biochemist
• university teacher

Last updated

2026-06-21

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.