TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday met with researcher Akira Yoshino, a winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Yoshino, honorary fellow of major Japanese chemical maker Asahi Kasei Corp., and two foreign scientists jointly won the prize for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries.

"I realized that the power of science and technology can change society," Abe told Yoshino during the meeting, held at the prime minister's office. Lithium-ion batteries have put electric vehicles to more practical use and are contributing to environmental protection, he added. 

In response, Yoshino said that his winning of the Nobel prize "made people in Japan feel very happy and will hopefully be of help, even if only slightly, for the execution of government policies." 

The award ceremony for Yoshino and the other two chemistry prize laureates--John B. Goodenough of University of Texas and M. Stanley Whittingham Binghamton University, State University of New York--will be held in Stockholm on Dec. 10.

JIJI Press