From our other sites
The story
On October 7, 2026, reports that Kenso Soai, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of Science, had been named a winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry set off a thread on 5ch’s “Hello! Project” board. The prize recognized his 1995 discovery of the “asymmetric autocatalytic reaction” (the Soai reaction), shared jointly with France’s Henri Kagan. The thread also noted his background — born in Hiroshima Prefecture and holder of a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Tokyo. Posters traded comments about the unusual reading of his surname and the practical uses of the research, with the discussion branching out into speculation about future Japanese Nobel laureates and research trends in other countries.
What people said
〈_ヾ｀（ ｛
＼ヾ ＼ -十- ﾉコ ＿＿＿＿ //
'., ヽ. ‾⏉‾ ノ ・・
'., ヽ. ､- '''｀ ミｿ,.
' , ヽ ' ,,_ ／,. ､"''ヾ､,, ﾐ
＼ ゝ ヽ, {〉' ミ､} __ ヾ, |
{彡'´ ﾉ ＼._ / ／・_｡｀ﾐ､｀〃 /
＼._,. '. ｀⌒～{ '(,^ヾ)ﾉ 〉<彡
ヽ、 |__ヽ、__二彡∠ '´
ﾄ､ / ／ ⌒V|
| ', /´ ヽ.
He is from Fuchū-chō, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Wait, it's not "Kenzo"?!
Never heard of it, lol
And hey, Haruki Murakami — you still don't need to win the Literature Prize this year either!
Soai (硤合)
[Reading] Soai
[Romaji] Soai
[National rank] 54,254th
[Number nationwide] approx. 30 people
The Soai reaction
(Soai hannō, "Soai reaction") is an organic chemistry reaction that uses "asymmetric autocatalysis" — in which the product itself acts as an asymmetric catalyst — to amplify an extremely slight chiral bias up to nearly 100% optical purity. It was first discovered, worldwide, in 1995 by Professor Emeritus Kenso Soai of Tokyo University of Science.
Organic chemistry (asymmetric synthesis, asymmetric autocatalysis, the origin of chirality, asymmetric catalysis, self-replication, organic synthesis)
The addition of organozinc compounds to aldehydes can be activated by suitable catalysts, and many asymmetric versions of this reaction are known. Among them, he discovered that the addition of diisopropylzinc to pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde is catalyzed by the product itself — a secondary alcohol — making it an autocatalytic reaction, and that the process produces an extremely large amplification of chirality in the process[4][5].
What's this actually good for, I wonder
Something like being able to mass-produce optical isomer molecules industrially without needing live enzymes? Not totally sure, though
Alfred Nobel was a scientist
It's a prize created from Nobel's will
congratulations
people have been saying that for years running now
there's still plenty more Japanese laureates to come!
— though he's got a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Tokyo too
it'll probably be a while yet before Chinese researchers start winning
Soai (硤合)
[Reading] Soai
[Romaji] Soai
[National rank] 54,254th
[Number nationwide] approx. 30 people
What is that, like "a Chinese food fair at Tokyo German Village, which is actually in Chiba"? (joking about the mismatched name)
Could be the Economics Prize too
AI researchers have already won the Fields Medal (note: that's math's top prize, not a Nobel)
Seem to recall some Hello! Project member being related to a Nobel laureate once
Don't jinx it, that's bad luck
right around the start of the end
Isn't yutori education a system built to produce a ton of fools and a handful of geniuses? If anything, shouldn't that mean MORE Nobel laureates?
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Nobel Prizes in Chemistry often take decades to arrive after the original discovery, and the Soai reaction is no exception — nearly 30 years passed between its 1995 discovery and this year’s award. This reflects the time lag typical of natural-science Nobel Prizes, where research must go through years of further verification and real-world application before earning international recognition. Responding to one poster’s question of “so what’s this actually good for,” others in the thread suggested it could enable industrial-scale mass production of chiral (optical isomer) molecules without relying on living enzymes — a classic case of basic research eventually feeding into industrial application. One post claimed this was “a first for Tokyo University of Science,” but it’s worth noting that Satoshi Ōmura, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015, also earned his Doctor of Science there — so the university has in fact produced laureates before. The thread’s discussion ranged widely, touching on the significance of the research and assessments of China’s research trends, but all of it remained speculation and personal opinion rather than established fact.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Breaking] A Japanese Winner for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry!!“.
Leave a Reply