The laureates of the prestigious Fukuoka Prize 2015 have been announced. The Grand Prize goes to the renowned Myanmar author, historian and Yangon heritage champion, Thant Myint-U. The Arts and Culture Prize is awarded to Vietnamese fashion designer Minh Hanh.

As Japan's cultural gateway, Fukuoka City has since antiquity played a significant role in promoting exchanges with other regions of Asia. This history, and a determination to promote and understand the distinctive cultures of Asia, and to further peace, inspired the inauguration of the Fukuoka Prize (formerly known as the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize) in 1990 through collaboration between academia, businesses, and the city authorities.　Since then, there have been many prize recipients from almost every region of Asia.

Grand Prize 2015
Thant Myint-U - Historian [ Chairman, Yangon Heritage Trust ] Myanmar

Dr. Thant Myint-U is an exceptionally outstanding historian in contemporary Asia, writing accessible history of his ancestral homeland, Myanmar (Burma). To recreate the identity of the nation, he is committed to the preservation of historic buildings in Myanmar and to sustainable urban planning. Moreover, he has devoted himself to furthering peace in the world and in his own country. Dr. Thant Myint-U is a distinguished intellectual of 21^st century Asia, narrating the voices of the people of Myanmar and connecting them with the wider international community.

Arts and Culture Prize 2015
Minh Hanh - Fashion Designer Vietnam

Based on her deep insight of Vietnam’s original cultures, Ms. Minh Hanh has created contemporary fashions by fusing ao dai and time-honored embroideries and fabrics inherited among Vietnamese ethnic minorities. As a leading fashion designer in Vietnam, she has also organized many fashion shows in various parts of the world and developed young designers and the fashion market in Vietnam. Her great contribution to the development of fashion culture makes her worthy of the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Prize.

The 26th Fukuoka Prize award ceremony will be held at Fukuoka International Congress Center, Japan on 17 September 2015. Admission is free.