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Makoto Nagao

Japanese computer scientist

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ6739954 ↗
Source-derived summary

Makoto Nagao (長尾 真, Nagao Makoto; October 4, 1936 – May 23, 2021) was a Japanese computer scientist. He contributed to various fields: machine translation, natural language processing, pattern recognition, image processing and library science. He was the 23rd president of Kyoto University (1997–2003) and the 14th director of National Diet Library in Japan (2007–2012).

Early life and career

Born and raised in Mie Prefecture, Japan, Makoto Nagao graduated from Kyoto University in 1959, and received a master's degree in engineering in 1961 and a Ph.D. in engineering in 1966 from the university.

In Kyoto University, he became an assistant professor in 1967, an associate professor in 1968, and a professor in 1973. He served as the 23rd president of Kyoto University (1997–2003).

After retirement from the university, he was appointed to the director of National Diet Library in 2007 and held the position until 2012.

He was the 20th director of the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) (1999–2000). Each year since 2005, IPSJ Nagao Special Researcher Award has been awarded to young Japanese computer scientists who accomplished notable research.

He was the first president of the Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation (AAMT), and in each year from 2006, AAMT Nagao Award is awarded to individuals or groups who made contribution to machine translation.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Makoto Nagao” is japanese computer scientist. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Makoto, Nagao and Japanese, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1936, 2021, 1997, 2003—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1936-10-04. For this dossier, Makoto, Nagao and Japanese is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “japanese computer scientist” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6739954. VIAF identifies the subject as 108135564. The Library of Congress control number is n80114781. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1936, 2021, 1997 and 2003.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Makoto Nagao”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Makoto Nagao primary sources, Makoto Nagao archive and Makoto research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Makoto Nagao”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Makoto Nagao” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.