Japan Arts Prize Carries 15 Million Yen Honorarium for Blanchett

Cate Blanchett collected an honorarium of 15 million yen, just under $100,000, on Wednesday when she accepted the Praemium Imperiale at a ceremony in Tokyo. The Japan Art Association presents the award for lifetime achievement across painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theater/film.

Princess Hitachi handed Blanchett her medal at the Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo's Moto-Akasaka district. Each laureate also receives a testimonial letter. The other 2026 recipients are American artist Jenny Holzer, British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, American architect Daniel Libeskind, and Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt.

At a news conference preceding the ceremony, Blanchett argued that uncertainty serves artistic work rather than undermining it. "In an uncertain world riddled with unthinking certainty I believe doubt is vital to the creative process," she said. "It's what starts the challenge, the questioning, the exploration. It allows conversation and connection. It allows change." She described acting as "a profession that at its worst sinks into a quagmire of literalness but at its best can leave people speechless," opening her remarks with a reference to surrealist artist Leonora Carrington.

Blanchett said her work begins in the space between a character's words and what they cannot say. "I always look for meaning, for opportunity in the spaces between what is said, in what is not said, in what people are trying to say, in what they wish they had said and in what they wish they had not," she said. She added that doubt follows her constantly. "The doubt that I will ever fully communicate is always with me. And as a woman that doubt is often interpreted as a lack of confidence. It is not. That doubt is my artistic starting point," she said.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the press conference in her role as the prize's U.S. international adviser. International advisory committees recommend candidates, and the Japan Art Association makes the final selections. Clinton called the award "a global declaration that artists and culture are essential pillars of our societies." She also tied the prize's purpose to current conditions, saying, "It's also, I think, even more essential that we bolster the arts in a time when we are facing the transformations being brought about by artificial intelligence."

Blanchett's schedule in Japan continues through the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs through Nov. 4. On Friday she joins filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat for a Q&A after Japanese premieres of five shorts supported by the Displacement Film Fund, which she co-founded and leads to support displaced filmmakers. She is also set to appear Friday with directors David and Nathan Zellner for a discussion of Alpha Gang, in which she stars.

Past theater and film recipients of the Praemium Imperiale include Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench, and Catherine Deneuve. Ang Lee took the prize in 2024. Blanchett closed her remarks on Wednesday with, "I am profoundly grateful to have this honor bestowed upon me."