Japanese mathematician wins major prize for work on symmetry theory

A Japanese mathematician won the Abel Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the field, for his work on symmetries.

Masaki Kashiwara’s work links several branches of mathematics, including “geometry, algebra, and analysis,” according to the Abel committee, often translating a problem from one sphere to another, allowing him to use different tools to solve it.

Kashiwara, who is credited with greatly extending the mathematical theory of symmetry, is the first Japanese person — and indeed “the first person based outside North America, Europe, or Israel,” Nature noted — to win the award.