This year markes the 27^th edition of the research grant program. Guided by the catchphrase “Forging a Better Tomorrow with “Hirameki” and “Kirameki.”” the Foundation encourages research themes that contribute toward the creation of a better future by fusing the creativity of researchers and the potential of precious metals.

Recipients will receive a total of 20 million yen in research grants, including 10 million yen—the highest amount—under the Umekichi Tanaka Award; 3 million yen under the Ichiro Tanaka Award; 1 million yen under the Innovative Precious Metals Award; 300,000 yen under the HIRAMEKI Award; and 1 million yen under the KIRAMEKI Award. The Umekichi Tanaka Award is named after founder Umekichi Tanaka, who strove to expand industrial use of precious metals. The Ichiro Tanaka Award honors Ichiro Tanaka, the company’s second president, who strove for international collaboration.

Applications can be submitted using the application form on TANAKA Memorial Foundation website (https://tanaka-foundation.or.jp). Following a rigorous review process, the grant recipients will be announced around the end of March 2026.

TANAKA Memorial Foundation aims to contribute to the development of new potential for precious metals and to the development of science, technology, and the social economy by conducting activities to realize a prosperous society. Through this grant program, the foundation will support a diverse range of research and development that endeavors to create a sustainable future.

Last year, the Ichiro Tanaka Award was presented to “New developments in half-Heusler compounds as highly refractive transparent materials” (Assistant Professor Akihiro Ishii of Tohoku University) and “Establishment of a temperature measurement technique for highly efficient operation of cryogenic fluids using ruthenium complexes” (Professor Yu Matsuda of Waseda University). There was no recipient for the Umekichi Tanaka Award.

Overview of the 2025 Precious Metals Research Grants

Theme
- Themes that involve any of the following: new technologies to which precious metals can make a contribution, research related to precious metals that will bring innovative evolution to products, or research and development of new products using precious metals

Grant Amounts (Maximum amounts from a grant pool of 20 million yen)

*The grant amount is treated as a scholarship donation.
*Awards may not be granted in some cases.

Eligible Candidates
- Personnel who work for educational institutions in Japan (universities, graduate schools, or technical colleges) or public and related research institutions may participate.
*As long as the applicant is affiliated with a research institution in Japan, the base of activity can be in Japan or overseas.
*KIRAMEKI Awards are for researchers under the age of 37 as of April 1, 2025.

Application Period
- 9 am, September 1, 2025 (Mon) - 5 pm, November 28, 2025 (Fri)

Application Method
- Enter the required information on the application form available on the TANAKA Memorial Foundation website (https://tanaka-foundation.or.jp) and upload details of the research (papers and supplementary material on the theme).

Announcement
- Results will be announced on the TANAKA Memorial Foundation website around the end of March 2026.
*TANAKA will contact the award recipients directly.

Conditions
New research and development themes—either using precious metals or that can be applied to precious metals—that contribute to the creation of a sustainable future, with research content that falls under any of the following.
- New technology related to precious metals (new materials, processing methods, process development, etc.)
- Research that brings about innovative evolution in product development (new functions, process development, computational science, etc.)
- Research and development of new products using precious metals
*Precious metal refers to eight elements of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.
*If development is conducted jointly (or planned to be) with other material manufacturers, please indicate so.
*Products that have already been commercialized, put to practical use, or that are planned are not eligible.

About Umekichi Tanaka

After training at Ejimaya pawn brokerage in Tokyo, company founder Umekichi Tanaka opened Ejimaya Tanaka Shoten at Kitajima-cho, Nihonbashi-ku, Tokyo (now Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo). In the early days of the company, copper coins (one-hundredth of a yen) and nickel coins (five-hundredths of a yen) were bought and exchanged, in lots of 100 yen, with merchants for a fee. The company then expanded into the bullion trading business and began melting down foreign currency bought from Yokohama’s foreign quarter and other places, refining it, and selling the metal. The refining technologies developed at this time went on to play a significant role in the subsequent greater industrial use of precious metals.

About Ichiro Tanaka

Tanaka Shoten’s second President Ichiro Tanaka began negotiations around 1920 to directly import platinum from the Soviet Union, which accounted for approximately 70% of the world’s platinum production during that time. Three years later, in April 1923, the Soviet government signed a contract on sales rights with Tanaka Shoten. Through this contract, Tanaka Shoten became Japan’s sole sales agency for platinum and palladium and gained sales rights for the entirety of East Asia, which were the same terms as with the United States and the United Kingdom. Subsequently, Ichiro Tanaka strove for overseas collaboration in platinum group precious metals such as platinum and palladium.

Inquiries Concerning the Research Grant Program
Precious Metals Research Grants Office
Global Marketing / R&D Supervisory Department, TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.
2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0025
E-mail: joseikin@ml.tanaka.co.jp
TANAKA Memorial Foundation website: https://tanaka-foundation.or.jp

TANAKA Memorial Foundation
Organization Name: TANAKA Memorial Foundation
Address: 2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hideya Okamoto (Special Advisor, TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd.)
Incorporated: 2015
Purpose of Business: To provide grants for research related to precious metals to contribute to the development and cultivation of new fields for precious metals, and to the development of science, technology, and the social economy.
Areas of Business: Provision of grants for scientific and technological research related to precious metals. Recognition of excellent analysis of precious metals and holding of seminars and other events.

TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: 2-6-6 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Koichiro Tanaka, CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918
Capital: 500 million yen
Employees: 2,798 (Including overseas subsidiaries) (December 31, 2024)
Sales: 353,213,723,000 yen (FY2024)
Main businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products.
URL: https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com

Press Inquiries
TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.
https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-for-media/

Press release: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/2025901.pdf