Dr. ISEKI Kotaro, researcher of Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division, received the 24th Japanese Society of Crop Science Young Scientist Award. This award is given to young scientist of the Crop Science Society of Japan with outstanding research achievements that contribute to the development of crop science. Title of the research commended was “Characterization of Plant Genetic Resources to Improve Crop Production under Environmental Stresses in Asia and Africa”. Dr. ISEKI has been advancing the characterization of genetic resources of rice, cowpea, and yam to identify accessions with excellent environmental stress tolerance and improved productivity. He also has developed several high-throughput evaluation techniques for that purpose. The research was targeted not only for cultivars but also for crop wild relatives that have not been used so far in developing countries. A medal and certificate dated March 26, 2020 was presented to him.