Over the weekend, Japanese national broadcaster Nippon TV announced the names of 21 recipient of the Persons of Cultural Merit honours and the Order of Culture award. Legendary anime star Masako Nozawa, who is best celebrated for voicing the Dragon Ball protagonist Goku, was named as Person of Cultural Merit honoree.
She has now become the first voice actor to be receive the Japanese honour, which was bestowed upon filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki in 2021. In addition to Masako Nozawa being announced as one of the awardees, manga creator Keiko Takemiya (The Door into Summer, Toward the Terra), actor-dancer Min Tanaka (live-action Rurouni Kenshin films), and playwright and actor Hideki Noda will also be receiving the honour at a ceremony scheduled to take place at The Okura Tokyo hotel on November 3, 2025, according to Crunchyroll News.
Established in 1951, the Persons of Cultural Merit award is also attached to a government-sponsored pension plan. As a result, an annual lifetime payment of 3.5 million yen ($23,300) is provided to the recipients who have significantly worked towards the advancement of Japanese culture.
Who is Masako Nozawa?
Most prominently applauded for her contribution to the long-running Dragon Ball franchise and lending her voice to Goku, Masako Nozawa is also known as the voice of Kitaro in Gegege no Kitaro and multiple other characters in the Doraemon series.
The 88-year-old anime icon holds the Guinness World Record for voicing the same character in a video game for the longest period and “longest video game voice acting career,” all thanks to her attachment to the Dragon Ball franchise. The Son Goku voice actor first came on board the 1963 Astro Boy anime series, and then moved on to voicing Kitaro in the 1968 Gegege no Kitaro anime and its 1971 sequel, according to the Anime News Network.
She eventually returned to voice Medama Oyaji in the 2018 remake and the 2023 Gegege no Kitaro – Kappa no Terraforming movie.
Reacting to having scored a first for the anime voice acting community, she said of the Persons of Cultural Merit honour, “I understand this honor is one I receive on behalf of the voice acting community. I feel immense pride that the spotlight of this award shines not only on myself, but also on my seniors, my peers, and the younger generation who will venture into the future of voice acting.”
She went on to extend her heartfelt gratitude to the creators responsible for bringing all her works and characters to life, and the fans who continue to support her after all this time. “It is only through your existence that “culture” is nurtured, and that our journey as voice actors continues to be made possible,” she added, as quoted by Crunchyroll. “My only real asset is my energy, so I intend to keep delivering my “voice” with all my might, hoping to contribute even a little to repaying my debt to culture.”
