Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the award ceremony for the Japan Prize in Tokyo on April 16.

The prize recognizes achievements in science and technology worldwide.

This year's recipients included British and American researchers who incorporated numerical models and data analysis in meteorology, contributing to improving weather forecasts for more than half a century.

S/ Emperor Naruhito / I express my deep respect for the great contributions the prize recipients have made through their research toward predicting abnormal weather caused by global warming and improving human health.

After the ceremony, the imperial couple chatted with the recipients.