The Praemium Imperiale is a group of awards for the arts established to mark the centennial of the Japan Art Association (honorary patron: Prince Hitachi, chairman: Hisashi Hieda) and to realize the wish of the late Prince Takamatsu “to contribute to enhancing and promoting the cultures and arts of the world.”

The International Advisors who recommend candidates are Lamberto Dini (former Prime Minister of Italy), Christopher Patten (former Chancellor of the University of Oxford), Klaus-Dieter Lehmann (former President of the Goethe-Institut), Jean-Pierre Raffarin (former Prime Minister of France) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (former Secretary of State of USA).

With the help of their nomination committees, the International Advisors annually recommend candidates in each of five categories: painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theatre/film. Selection committees in the Japan Art Association review these recommendations and select one laureate in each category. Each of the five laureates receives an honorarium of 15 million yen, and a testimonial letter and medal that are presented to them at an awards ceremony held annually in autumn in Tokyo.

The Japan Art Association also offers a 5-million-yen Grant for Young Artists. This grant was inaugurated in 1997 to encourage the involvement of young people in the arts, and is given to an individual or a group. The International Advisors in turn take responsibility for selecting the recipients.