Tokyo Award: Cate Blanchett Collects 15 Million Yen for Praemium Imperiale

Cate Blanchett collected 15 million yen, valued at just under $100,000, from the Japan Art Association on Wednesday. The payment accompanies a medal and a testimonial letter for the Praemium Imperiale, a lifetime achievement award given to artists in five disciplines. Blanchett is the latest recipient in the theater and film category, joining a list of previous honorees that includes Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench, and Ang Lee.

Princess Hitachi presented the medal to Blanchett at the Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo’s Moto-Akasaka district. The ceremony recognized Blanchett’s career, which includes two Academy Awards. She spoke before the black-tie event at a news conference where she warned against unthinking certainty. She described the willingness to question assumptions as a force that enables conversation and change in an uncertain world.

Blanchett argued that doubt is essential to creativity. She stated that uncertainty allows artists to explore ideas and connect with others. She noted that as a woman, her doubt is often mistaken for insufficient confidence, though she views it as the starting point of her artistic process. She praised her fellow recipients for the courage and rigor required to sustain artistic risk-taking over long careers.

The other laureates selected for this year’s award include American artist Jenny Holzer, British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, American architect Daniel Libeskind, and Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt. The Japan Art Association makes final choices for the prize. An international advisory network, which includes committees that nominate candidates, supports the selection process.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the news conference as the prize’s U.S. international adviser. She said the award affirms the essential place of artists and culture in society. Clinton argued that support for the arts has become more urgent amid threats to democratic values and concerns about artificial intelligence. She called for the risks of the technology to be restrained while protecting human imagination.

Blanchett’s visit to Japan includes participation in the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs through Nov. 4. On Friday, she is scheduled to join directors Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat for a question-and-answer session. The session will follow the Japanese premieres of five shorts backed by the Displacement Film Fund, an initiative Blanchett co-founded. Later that day, she is due to discuss her role in the alien comedy Alpha Gang with directors David and Nathan Zellner.