Masako Nozawa, Voice of Goku, Becomes First Voice Actor Awarded Japan’s Person of Cultural Merit

By Elijah Gonzalez  |  October 21, 2025 | 11:00am
Anime News
Masako Nozawa, Voice of Goku, Becomes First Voice Actor Awarded Japan’s Person of Cultural Merit

Every year, the Japanese government recognizes several individuals for their contributions to Japanese arts, science, sports, and academia by honoring them as a Person of Cultural Merit. This year, one of the honorees is none other than the legendary voice actor Masako Nozawa, who is best known for voicing Dragon Ball’s Goku. She’s been playing the character uninterrupted for almost forty years since the start of the anime in 1986. Nozawa was selected alongside 21 other honorees, including mangaka Keiko Takemiya (Kaze to Ki no Uta, Toward the Terra). The award comes with a government-sponsored pension that grants recipients $23,000 a year.

As for Nozawa, between her long-running performance as Goku and her voice acting work that goes back to the ‘60s, she’s viewed as a crucial figure in the Japanese voice acting industry. She’s previously won distinctions at the Animation Kobe Awards, Tokyo Anime Awards, Seiyu Awards, Japanese Movie Critic Awards, Japan Media Arts Festival, Japan Academy Film Prize, and Kikuchi Kan Prize. She is in the Guinness World Records for the “Longest video game voice acting career” and also the “Longest period voicing the same character in video games.”

In addition to voicing Goku, she also voices Gohan, Bardock, Goten, and more of Goku’s relatives in Dragon Ball. Other well-known roles include Guilmon in Digimon, Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō, and Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999. Her voice acting roles span back as far as the original Astro Boy in 1963. Daughter of the painter Ryoshu Nozawa, she began performing as a child voice actor, lived through the Second World War, acted in live-action TV dramas, and then made her anime debut in 1963 with Wolf Boy Ken.

According to a translation from Crunchyroll, Nozawa had the following to say about the award, which will be formally given on November 3:

“I understand this honor is one I receive on behalf of the voice acting community. I feel immense pride that the spotlight of this award shines not only on myself, but also on my seniors, my peers, and the younger generation who will venture into the future of voice acting.

I also express my heartfelt gratitude to all the creators who have brought these works and characters to life, and to the fans who continue to support us unwaveringly. It is only through your existence that “culture” is nurtured, and that our journey as voice actors continues to be made possible.

My only real asset is my energy, so I intend to keep delivering my “voice” with all my might, hoping to contribute even a little to repaying my debt to culture.”

Japan’s Persons of Cultural Merit have honored a handful of other significant contributors to manga, anime, and video games over the years, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshiyuki Tomino (Gundam), Moto Hagio (The Poe Clan, The Heart of Thomas), and more.

 
Join the discussion...