The Praemium Imperiale, which was founded in 1989, is awarded each year to honor the achievements of artists in five fields: painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theater/film.

Three French artists were among this year's winners—the actress Catherine Deneuve who enjoys icon status in Japan, the painter Pierre Alechinsky, and the architect Christian de Portzamparc. The other laureates were the Japanese sculptor Fujiko Nakaya and the Italian conductor Riccardo Muti.

The first French actress to have won this prize, Catherine Deneuve explained in a short speech that the Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes for Shoplifters), with whom she is currently working, gave her a special leave of absence from the film shoot to travel to Tokyo to accept her award!

For further information, see the Praemium Imperiale website.