Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett added to her stack of global accolades on Wednesday by accepting Japan’s prestigious Praemium Imperiale award at a black-tie ceremony in Tokyo.
At a press conference preceding the presentation, the actress took the opportunity to reflect on the value of creative uncertainty – and the destructive hubris of its opposite.
“In a world that is uncertain and full of unthinking certainties, I believe that doubt is vital to the creative process,” Blanchett said. “It’s what sparks the challenge, the questioning, the exploration. It allows for conversation and connection. It allows for change.”
Presented by the Japan Art Association, the Praemium Imperiale recognizes life’s work in five disciplines: painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theater/cinema. Often described as the Nobel Prize of the arts, the honor puts Blanchett in good company: past winners in theater and film include Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench and Catherine Deneuve. Ang Lee was the last recipient associated with Hollywood, winning the award in 2024.
Princess Hitachi of Japan presented Blanchett with her medal at the Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo’s Moto-Akasaka district. Each winner also receives a testimonial letter and an honorarium of 15 million yen (just under $100,000). This year’s other winners were American artist Jenny Holzer, British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, American architect Daniel Libeskind and Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt.
Cate Blanchett receives a testimonial letter during the Praemium Imperiale Awards 2026 ceremony at the Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo, Japan.
Blanchett used her acceptance speech to offer a meditation on the limits of language and how artistic work finds power in the inexpressible. Opening her speech with a reference to surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, she described acting as “a profession that, at its worst, descends into a quagmire of literalness, but at its best, can leave people speechless.”
Her creative starting point, she explains, is often the mysterious gap between what a character says and what they can’t seem to express with language.
“I always look for meaning, for opportunities in the spaces between what is said, in what is not said, in what people are trying to say, in what they wish they had said and in what they wish they had not said,” she said.
This pursuit, Blanchett suggests, requires a willingness to remain uncertain, even when uncertainty is interpreted as weakness.
“The doubt that I will ever be able to communicate fully is always with me. And as a woman, this doubt is often interpreted as a lack of confidence. This is not the case. This doubt is my artistic starting point,” she said. “It’s what allows me to hear, it allows me to see, it allows me to feel.”
Continuing to take artistic risks over the course of a long career, she added, requires courage and rigor – qualities she praised in her fellow laureates.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is the US international advisor for the award, was also present at the press conference. Clinton is part of the international advisory network whose committees recommend candidates, with the final selection made by the Japan Art Association.
Clinton said the prize was “a global declaration that artists and culture are essential pillars of our societies”, arguing that its role has only become more important amid threats to democratic values and concerns over artificial intelligence.
“It is also, I think, even more essential to support the arts at a time when we are facing the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence,” she said, calling for controlling the risks of technology while preserving human capacities for imagination and connection.
Blanchett’s visit to Japan will next include appearances at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs through November 4. On Friday, she is expected to join filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat for a question-and-answer session following the Japanese premieres of five short films supported by the Displacement Film Fund, the initiative she co-founded and leads to support displaced filmmakers.
Later Friday, she is scheduled to appear with directors David and Nathan Zellner for a discussion accompanying their extraterrestrial comedy. Alpha Gangin which she plays.
Blanchett concluded her remarks in Tokyo on Wednesday with characteristic poise.
“I am deeply grateful to receive this honor,” she said. “It’s a kind of Olympus that I never imagined I’d touch. It’s a beautiful, soul-lifting surprise and a deep honor indeed.”
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