The 2025 Vaughn-Uyeda Memorial International Journalistic Prize went to Kyodo News reporter Fukuda Masanori for his reporting of an incident in which a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel received warning shots from China and to Mainichi Shimbun reporter Kaneko Jun for his coverage of what happened behind the scenes in the collapse of the Syrian regime.

The special prize was awarded to Nippon TV reporter Sakai Hideto for his continued reporting about children living in war-torn Ukraine.

Sakai reported on places such as underground schools built to evade attacks, conveying the reality of children scarred by war.

He also depicted orphans and other children growing up amid the grief of losing their parents and the fear of air raids, visualizing the prolonged tragedies born out of the conflict.

The impactful footage featured on NTV programs such as “news every.” was highly acclaimed, leading to this award.

The Vaughn-Uyeda prize is awarded annually to journalists for their contributions to the promotion of international understanding through their reporting.