The 46th Ishibashi Tanzan Award Winners Have Been Announced Toyo Keizai Inc. Press Release: October 22, 2025 To Members of the Media Winners of the 46th “Ishibashi Tanzan Award” announced The winner of the 46th “Ishibashi Tanzan Award” (2025) (hosted by the Ishibashi Tanzan Memorial Foundation, supported by Toyo Keizai Inc. and the Keizai Club) has been selected as “Japan’s Public Finances: Five Proposals for Avoiding Bankruptcy”
(Chuokoron-Shinsha, May 2024) by Kazumitsu Sato, professor at the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Economics. The award was selected after a rigorous review process from among many books and essays recommended by experts from across the country. The author, a leading Japanese fiscal scholar, presents Japan’s current fiscal situation, the causes of the fiscal deficit, and effective measures for fiscal reconstruction. He states that the current fiscal crisis is due to a lack of fiscal discipline even in peacetime, and expresses concern that while the general public feels a sense of crisis, they do not see it as their own problem. The author points out that while short-term economic stimulus measures and medium- to long-term growth measures are important fiscal themes, fiscal spending has been biased toward the former due to strong public demand and political
intentions, putting off responses to major issues such as population decline and changes in the international situation. Returning to basic fiscal concepts, the book comprehensively discusses fiscal
reconstruction measures, including a review of tax systems and fiscal rules, and wise spending, which protects expenditures essential to people’s lives and economic growth while reducing those with little evidence of their effectiveness. The book concludes by stating that “fiscal democracy” is a test of whether the people can control and discipline their finances and eliminate the fiscal deficit through democracy. The book’s awareness of these issues and enlightening content make it a worthy recipient of the Ishibashi Tanzan Award. The award ceremony will be held at the Toyo Keizai Building on Tuesday, November 25th. “Japan’s Finances: Five Proposals for Avoiding Bankruptcy,” by Kazumitsu Sato (Chuko Shinsho, May 2024) Recipient Profile Born in Akita City in 1969. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Hitotsubashi University in 1992, and completed a Master’s degree at the Graduate School of Economics at Hitotsubashi University in 1994. Completed a Ph.D. at the Queen’s University Graduate School of Economics in 1998. Lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics at Hitotsubashi University from 1999, Assistant Professor in 2002, and Professor in 2009. Dean of the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International and Public Policy from 2012 to 2013, and Executive Advisor at Hitotsubashi University from 2014 to 2016. He served as Director of the Center for Health Policy and Economic Research at the Hitotsubashi University Institute for Advanced Study from 2016 to 2022. He was Dean of the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Economics from 2023 to 2024. He has previously served as a member and special member of the Government Tax System Research Council, a member of the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal System Council, and a member of the Cabinet Office’s Council for Regulatory Reform. He received the C.A. Curtis Award in 1999, the Ishikawa Prize of the Japanese Economic Association in 2019, and the Purple Ribbon Medal in 2024.
Books/Co-authored Works Post-COVID Policy Concepts: Healthcare, Finance, Social Security, and Industry (co-authored, Nikkei BP, Nikkei Publishing Division, 2021), 15 Lectures on Public Economics
(Shinseisha, 2017), The Economics of Local Tax Reform (Nikkei Publishing, 2011, Economist Award), Earthquake Disaster Recovery “Building a Society and Economy Resilient to Earthquake Disasters” (co-authored, Nippon Hyoronsha, 2011), “Public Finance” (The Open University of Japan Press, 2009), “Introduction to Local Government Finance” (Shinseisha, 2008), “The Economics of Local Allocation Tax: Reform Based on Theory and Empirical Research” (co-authored, Yuhikaku, 2003, winner of the Nikkei Economic Book Culture Award, the NIRA Okita Policy Research Award, and the Tax Museum Award) Award Ceremony Date and Time: Tuesday, November 25, 2025, 3:00 PM Venue: Toyo Keizai Building 9th Floor Hall (1-2-1, Nihonbashi Honkokucho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) About the Ishibashi Tanzan Award The Ishibashi Tanzan Award was established in 1980 by the Ishibashi Tanzan Memorial Foundation, with the support of Toyo Keizai Inc. and the Keizai Club. It is awarded to the work that is considered to have made the greatest contribution to the continuation and development of Ishibashi Tanzan’s ideas of liberalism, democracy, and international pacifism, among the papers and books published that year in the fields of politics, economics, international relations, society, and culture. Based on recommended papers and books submitted by members of the political, economic, academic, and media worlds, a selection committee made up of Foundation directors and councilors narrows the list of candidates to just a few. From these, the final selection committee members, Motoshige Ito (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo), Kiichi Fujiwara (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo), Keiko Sakai (Professor, Faculty of Law, Politics and Economics, Chiba University), Tsuyoshi Kato (Former Director-General of the National Archives of Japan), Yuichiro Yamagata (Chairman of the Keizai Club), and Tetsuya Yamada (President and CEO, Toyo Keizai Inc.), will decide on the winner at the Final Selection Committee meeting after deliberation. automatically, so please do not reply.
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