March 15, 2026
Since FY 2020, Japan ACM SIGCHI Chapter Awards identify and honor leaders of the field of human-computer interaction. We present awards in two categories:
The awards committee selected following recipients from the submitted award nominations after strict review.
Dr. Jun Rekimoto is an internationally recognized pioneer of Human-Computer Interaction. In 1994, he invented NaviCam and CyberCode—the world's first mobile AR system and the world's first visual-marker-based AR system—and in 2001 invented SmartSkin, the seminal work underlying today's multi-touch interaction. These contributions laid the technological foundations for modern smartphones and AR systems used worldwide. More recently, he has led the integration of HCI and AI through major national initiatives, including JST CREST, the Moonshot R&D Program, and ASPIRE. He has also established the new academic discipline of Human Augmentation and played a foundational role in launching the international conference series Augmented Humans. His achievements have been recognized through election to the ACM CHI Academy, the ACM UIST Lasting Impact Award (twice), the National Commendation for Invention Special Prize, and the Ichimura Academic Award, among many others. His scholarly impact is reflected in more than 35,000 citations to his published works. Dr. Rekimoto has also served the community as program and general chair of numerous flagship ACM conferences and as Research Supervisor of the JST PRESTO program "Human-Interaction Future." At the University of Tokyo, he has advanced industry-academia collaboration through endowed and social-collaboration chairs, and has mentored a distinguished cohort of next-generation researchers, including 20 Ph.D. graduates. For these outstanding and wide-ranging contributions, Dr. Jun Rekimoto is most deserving of the 2025 Japan ACM SIGCHI Chapter Lifetime Community Contribution Award.
Dr. Yuta Sugiura has advanced pioneering research on real-world interfaces with the aim of realizing AI and information technologies that are seamlessly integrated into everyday life. He has proposed and implemented numerous interfaces that are inexpensive and easy to use, yet capable of acquiring diverse information from people’s daily activities and transforming it into rich interactive experiences. These research outcomes have been presented at leading international conferences, including CHI and UIST, where they have received high acclaim.
Furthermore, Dr. Sugiura has expanded these research efforts into a wide range of fields, including healthcare, welfare, childcare, and entertainment. By open-sourcing his technologies and providing practical applications, he has actively promoted their deployment in society. His research achievements have been widely recognized both in Japan and internationally, as reflected in numerous honors, including The Young Scientists’ Award under The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Funai Information Technology Award, the IPSJ/ACM Award for Early Career Contributions to Global Research, and the UIST Best Paper Award.
Dr. Sugiura has also been actively engaged in contributing to the academic community. He has served as Chair for SIGGRAPH Asia Emerging Technologies and CHI Interactivity, and has served multiple times on the Program Committees of UIST and TEI, among other roles. Through these activities, he has made significant contributions to the international research community.