Winners Announced for the 73rd Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award: 'If Your Town Were Gaza' by Maki Takahashi (Poplar Publishing) Takes Grand Prize

The winners of the 73rd Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award, hosted by Sankei Shimbun, have been decided, with nine works receiving accolades. The Grand Prize was awarded to 'If Your Town Were Gaza' by Maki Takahashi (Poplar Publishing). This award, established in 1954, aims to provide quality books to children who will lead the next generation and has contributed to the development of Japanese children's literature and picture book culture.
イベントNQ 85/100出典:PR Times

📋 Article Processing Timeline

  • 📰 Published: May 5, 2026 at 14:00
  • 🔍 Collected: May 5, 2026 at 05:01
  • 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 5, 2026 at 05:03 (2 min after Collected)
The nine winning works for the "73rd Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award," hosted by Sankei Shimbun, have been decided. A total of 4,276 children's books published in the past year, including those primarily for elementary school children and originally published in Japanese, were reviewed. The Grand Prize was awarded to "If Your Town Were Gaza" by Maki Takahashi (Poplar Publishing). For more details, please refer to the Sankei Shimbun morning edition on May 5th or the news website "Sankei News" (https://www.sankei.com/).

Grand Prize = "If Your Town Were Gaza" by Maki Takahashi (Poplar Publishing)

JR Award = "Doki Doki Shiteru" by Tae Takegami (Kaiseisha)

Taihei Award = "Watashi, Wakannai" by Nariko Iwase (Kodansha)

Art Award = "Aru Hoshi no Kisha" by Yoko Mori (Fukuinkan Shoten)

Sankei Shimbun Award = "Zukan Ishizumi" by Nishi Koge Ishizumi Kenkyukai / Supervised by Junko Sanada (Gijutsu-Hyohron Co., Ltd.)

Fuji Television Award = "Chotto Dake Tomodachi" by Chihiro Nakagawa (Nora Shoten)

Nippon Broadcasting System Award = "Shiroi Niji wo Nageru" by Mariko Yoshino (Gakken)

Translation Award = "Jenny the Shark" translated by Nana Yokono (Iwanami Shoten)

Translation Award = "Lena and the Gentleman Toad" translated by Mariko Kono (Tokuma Shoten)

Organizer: Sankei Shimbun

Supporters: Fuji Television, Nippon Broadcasting System

Sponsors: JR Hokkaido, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Shikoku, JR Kyushu, JR Freight, Taihei

[Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award]

Established in Showa 29 (1954) with the aim of "providing good books for the children who will lead the next generation." Approximately 1,200 children's books, including children's literature, picture books, translated books, and encyclopedias, have received awards to date. It is an award system that has shaped the history of post-war Japanese children's literature and picture book culture.

Selection Committee

《Literature》 Yuko Kawabata (Professor, Japan Women's University), Yasuko Doi (Director, Osaka International Children's Literature Promotion Foundation)

《Picture Books / Art》 Keiko Ochiai (Writer / Representative, Crayon House), Yumiko Sakuma (Translator)

《Society / Science》 Isamu Kinoshita (Professor Emeritus, Chiba University), Keiko Harigae (Director, Tokyo Children's Library)

《Guest Selection Committee》 Selection committee members from sponsor Taihei and various media companies participated in the final selection.