Cate Blanchett Accepts Japan's Praemium Imperiale in Tokyo

Cate Blanchett has accepted the Praemium Imperiale, one of Japan's best-known arts prizes, at a ceremony in Tokyo. The Hollywood Reporter reported the event on 29 October 2026.

The prize honours lifetime achievement in five fields: painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theatre/film. The Japan Art Association presents it and set it up in 1988. Blanchett was named as the 2026 laureate for theatre/film in September, in the 37th round of the award.

Japan's Princess Hitachi presented her medal at Meiji Kinenkan, a hall in Tokyo's Moto-Akasaka district. Each laureate also receives a testimonial letter and an honorarium of 15 million yen. Artforum put that sum at about $95,000.

She shares the 2026 list with some well-known names from other fields. Jenny Holzer is the painting laureate, Andy Goldsworthy is the sculptor, Daniel Libeskind is the architect and Herbert Blomstedt is the music laureate.

At a news conference before the presentation, Blanchett spoke about doubt. "In an uncertain world riddled with unthinking certainty I believe doubt is vital to the creative process," she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hillary Clinton, who serves as the prize's U.S. international adviser, was also at the press conference.

Blanchett's week in Tokyo also ties into a film festival. The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival runs from 26 October to 4 November 2026, and the festival says she will attend for programming linked to the Displacement Film Fund. She co-founded the fund and leads it. It supports filmmakers who have been refugees or forced from their homes.

The festival will show five short films from the fund's first round of recipients. Blanchett is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, a role she has held since earlier this year.

For festival-goers, the programme is a chance to see the first work to come out of the fund, in the same city where the prize was handed over.