DATE2026.04.09 #Awards & Prizes
Project Professor Nakahiro Yoshida received the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Project Professor Nakahiro Yoshida
We are delighted to announce that Project Professor Nakahiro Yoshida has been awarded the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for 2026. We extend our heartfelt congratulations.
A stochastic process that fluctuates randomly over time forms the foundation of statistical models used to describe a wide variety of phenomena in the real world. Project Professor Yoshida has taken “statistics for complex dependent data systems” as his primary research focus and has provided essential foundational mathematics for analyzing these phenomena.
He has constructed numerous new theoretical frameworks in the statistics of stochastic process models, thereby clearly opening pathways for subsequent researchers to follow. In particular, his achievements—such as systematizing “quasi-likelihood analysis,” which derives theoretical properties from model estimation and evaluation to prediction, and deriving and rigorously justifying “higher-order asymptotic expansion formulas” for functionals of stochastic processes—have fundamentally deepened statistical asymptotic theory. In light of the long history of this field, these contributions are truly outstanding. Considering his career, in which he has consistently embodied the ideal style of a theoretical statistician by establishing a robust mathematical foundation at a high level, I am convinced that the title of this achievement, “Research on the Mathematical Foundations of Theoretical Statistics,” is entirely fitting.
Project Professor Yoshida has received this award at a memorable milestone, immediately following his retirement from Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, where he taught for 30 years. I am confident that his future research will continue to develop with even greater momentum, and I sincerely wish him continued good health and success.
（Responsibility: Professor Hiroki Masuda, Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences）