The 6th Nikkei "Hoshi Shinichi Award" Ceremony A total of 2,489 entries were submitted.
The award ceremony for the 6th Nikkei "Shinichi Hoshi Award" (Sponsored by Nikkei Inc., Co-sponsored by JBCC Holdings, Tokyo Electron, Amada Holdings, NSK Ltd., Asahi Kasei Homes, and ThreeBond) was held on March 2 at the The National Art Center, Tokyo in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
Science fiction writer Shinichi Hoshi, who produced over 1,000 works in his lifetime and is known as the "God of Short Shorts." The Shinichi Hoshi Award, named after him, is a literary prize established in 2013 that solicits short stories written from a scientific perspective. It has three categories: the "General Category" with no age limit, the "Student Category" limited to those currently enrolled in school and aged 25 or younger, and the "Junior Category" for junior high school students and younger.
At the ceremony's opening, Marina Hoshi, Shinichi Hoshi's second daughter and representative of the Hoshi Library, stated: "Including the Excellence Award, five individuals have won the Shinichi Hoshi Award multiple times. Furthermore, some winners have gone on to win the Sogensha SF Short Story Award or the Hayakawa SF Contest Grand Prize. We sincerely hope they will now aim for the Japan SF Grand Prize." She added, "The future of humanity and the future of Earth can be made infinitely better by our imagination. I hope you will continue to read and write SF, and think about the future."
This year saw a total of 2,489 entries: 1,564 in the General Division, 160 in the Student Division, and 765 in the Junior Division. From these, the Grand Prix, Runner-up, and Excellence Awards were selected for each division. The Grand Prize in the General Division was awarded to Mr. Takashige Umezu's "SING×Rainbow," the Grand Prize in the Student Division to Mr. Kentaro Fujita's "The Girl Who Creates Translations," and the Grand Prize in the Junior Division to Mr. Taishu Iwai's "Clone."
The General Division Grand Prize carries a cash award of 1 million yen.
Many entries featured themes of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloning; the Grand Prize works in both the Student and Junior Divisions also dealt with cloning. Five entries (compared to seven in the 5th competition) were created using AI, but none passed the first round of judging.
Umezu's "SING×Rainbow" is set in a near-future on the brink of civilizational collapse. It depicts how humanity rebuilds civilization in a world where only games using the limited capacity of the internet remain as a means of communication. One of the judges, Hiroshi Ooguri, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, commented, "It draws you in relentlessly with its sense of shifting premises, surprising ideas, and the logical power to unfold a convincing story. It's a work that leverages scientific thinking and is worthy of the Grand Prix."
Umezu also participated in the Nikkei-sponsored "National Unified Programming Championship." He was in Tokyo just two weeks ago for its awards ceremony and reception. "Among the top 500 attendees at the reception, I ranked 499th—making me the weakest programmer present. This time, winning the Grand Prize gave me an incredible experience," he humorously shared his joy.
■ List of Winners for the 6th Nikkei "Hoshi Shinichi Award" (Titles Omitted)
【General Division】
Grand Prize (Hoshi Shinichi Award) Takashige Umezu "SING×Rainbow"
Excellence Award (JBCC Holdings Award): Takahiro Yasuno "Continuous Integration"
Excellence Award (Tokyo Electron Award): Masato Takeuchi "KANIKAMA"
Excellence Award (AMADA Holdings): Hana Agoha "Meteobacteria"
Excellence Award (Nippon Seiko Award) Atsushi Kamiya "Ultimate Passion"
Excellence Award (Asahi Kasei Homes Award) Mawuchi "Anxiety"
Excellence Award (ThreeBond Award) Tetsuan Dai "The Story of Pippi"
[Student Division]
Grand Prize (Shinichi Hoshi Award) Kentaro Fujita "The Girl Who Creates Translations"
Runner-up Grand Prize: Ruka Onuki "Zero Body Temperature and Olive Oil"
Excellence Award: Ayumu Sekizaki "Seeds of Conscience"
【Junior Division】
Grand Prize (Shinichi Hoshi Award) Taisuke Iwai "Clone"
Runner-up Grand Prize: Yumi Okamoto "Yuri-chan's Friend"
Excellence Award: Kanataro "The Predetermined Future"
Excellence Award: Tomochi Yamazawa "The Day I Got Stuck in the Shopping District"
Excellence Award: Okada Moeka "The Wonderful AI Society"
Official Website: http://hoshiaward.nikkei.co.jp/
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