Japanese philosopher Karatani Kojin has won the 2022 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture.

The Berggruen Institute, a US-based institute for policy study, established the prize in 2016. It is given annually to a thinker who has made significant contributions to human self-understanding and advancement, with a one million-dollar award.

Karatani won the prize in December, becoming the first Asian laureate.

The institute praised him as a rare thinker whose ideas move across philosophy, literary theory, economics and politics. It said that he has produced new philosophical concepts that delve into the nature of democracy, nationalism and capitalism.

The 81-year-old philosopher was born in Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

He has been active as a literary critic of Japanese novelists, including Natsume Soseki. Karatani also published a number of books on political economics and philosophy, including some on German philosopher Karl Marx and capitalism. Karatani's books have been translated into many languages.

An award ceremony was held in Tokyo on Thursday. Karatani expressed his joy in a speech that his work across various fields of specialties was recognized as presenting alternatives to modern society. He said the institute gave profound recognition to his work's significance.