On Wednesday, October 16th, HIH Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, presented the Praemium Imperiale Awards at a formal ceremony in Tokyo to this year's Laureates; internationally renowned artists who have shown extraordinary achievements in the fields of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music, and Theater/Film. All Laureates received specially-designed gold medals and testimonial letters. With an honorarium of 15 million yen　(c $150,000) per category, the awards recognize a lifetime achievement in the Arts, in categories not covered by the Nobel Prizes.

The 2013 Praemium Imperiale Laureates are:

Michelangelo Pistoletto  (Italy) Painting

Antony Gormley              (UK)         Sculpture

David Chipperfield         (UK) 　 　　 Architecture

Plácido Domingo            (Spain)     Music

Francis Ford Coppola    (USA)       Theatre/Film

The recipient of the annual Grant for Young Artist award (presented in September) was The JuniOrchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. The organization received a grant of 5 million yen (c $50,000) to support its goal of nurturing the involvement of young people in the art.