The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Japan Science Fiction Convention. It is the oldest SF award in Japan, being given since the 9th Japan Science Fiction Convention in 1970.
"Seiun", the Japanese word for "nebula", was taken from the first professional science fiction magazine in Japan, which had a short run in 1954. The award is not related to the American Nebula Award.
It is similar to the Hugo Award, which is presented by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, in that all of the members of the presenting convention are eligible to participate in the selection process, though it is not a one-on-one comparison as the Hugo Awards are open to works from anywhere in any language, while the Seiun is implicitly limited to works released in Japan and written in or translated to Japanese.
Eligibility and the selection process A professional work or achievement which appeared for the first time in the previous calendar year may be considered eligible. The eligibility of magazines is determined via nominal publication date, which often tend to be a month or two ahead of the actual date due to Japanese publication customs.
There are no written rules about word count for literary fiction categories, so that the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the voters.
Usually in spring, SFFAN issues reference nominee lists for reference in each category, which is chosen by the preliminary vote of their member groups. However, voters can cast their ballots for any eligible works outside of the list in the final ballot.
With consideration for voters' availability, a work which appears in a magazine (such as a part of serialized works or short story) or released as audio-visual media (such as a TV show or film) but wasn't chosen for the reference nominee lists may be eligible again if published as a book or released in any other media format.
Categories There are effectively no official English names for categories, so they vary depending on translators. For example, "Long Work" may be written as "Long Story", "Long Form", or "Novel"; "Short Story" may be referred to as "Short Form" and so on.
Current categories Year started Current description Best Japanese Long Work(, ) 1970 Science fiction novels and stories which appear or are translated for the first time during the eligible year. Serialized works on magazines may be eligible when they are finished; other works may be eligible when they get published as a book. A multi-volume work may also be eligible as a whole series when it concludes. Best Japanese Short Story(, ) Best Translated Long Work(, ) Best Translated Short Story(, ) Best Dramatic Presentation(, Media) Films, plays, and any other audio-visual works. As is the case with Long Works, serial dramatic works can be nominated as a single entity upon their conclusion.Note: The name was changed from in 1980. Best Comic(, Comic) 1978 Manga. Serial works may be nominated upon completion as is the case with Long Works. Best Artist(, Art) Artists with notable achievements. Best Nonfiction(, Nonfiction) 1985 Nonfiction works about SF such as studies and critiques, including translated ones. Serial nonfiction can be nominated upon completion as is the case with Long Works. Non category Nomination(, ) 2002 Any events which do not fit in other categories, such as "things", phenomena, or feats of science and technology.
Winners and candidates
Best Japanese Long Work
* Winners and joint winners + No winner selected Year Work Author(s) Publisher or publication 1970 Kodansha 1971 Sekai SF Zenshū Vol.29: Sakyo Komatsu, Hayakawa Publishing 1972 Nihon SF Novels, Hayakawa Publishing 1973 Kawade Shobō Shinsha 1974 Kappa Novels, Kōbunsha 1975 Kawade Shobō Shinsha 1976 Shinchōsha 1977 Nihon SF Novels, Hayakawa Publishing 1978 Tokuma Shoten 1979 SF Magazine Feb 1976 - Oct 1978 1980 SF Magazine Dec 1977 - Aug 1979 1981 SF Magazine Jul 1979 - Oct 1980 1982 Shinchosha 1983 Sankei Shuppan 1984 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 1985 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 1986 Hayakawa Publishing 1987 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 1988 (10 books) Tokuma Novels, Tokuma Shonten 1989 Tokuma Shoten 1990 Hayakawa Publishing 1991 Hayakawa Publishing 1992 Shinchō Bunko, Shinchōsha 1993 Hayakawa Publishing 1994 Hayakawa Publishing 1995 (10 books) C Novels, Chūōkōronsha 1996 (5 books) Hayakawa Publishing 1997 trilogy Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 1998 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 1999 Yūichi Sasamoto Sonorama Bunko, 2000 Hayakawa Publishing 2001 Hayakawa Publishing 2002 Famitsu Bunko, Enterbrain 2003 Hayakawa SF Series J collection, Hayakawa Publishing 2004 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 2005 Sonorama Bunko, Asahi Sonorama 2006 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 2007 Shogakukan 2008 (4 books) ASCII Media Works 2009 Hayakawa SF Series J Collection, Hayakawa Publishing 2010 (130 books) Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 2011 PHP Institute 2012 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing 2013 Kawade Shobō Shinsha Hayakawa Publishing Shinchosha Kadokawa Shoten (17 books) Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works Hayakawa SF Series J Collection, Hayakawa Publishing Kadokawa Shoten 2014 Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing Sogen Nihon SF Selection, Tokyo Sogensha Hayakawa SF Series J Collection, Hayakawa Publishing NOVA Collection, Kawade Shobō Shinsha Shinchosha 2015 Hayakawa Publishing Tokuma Bunko, Tokuma Shoten Kodansha Kodansha (9 books) Gagaga Bunko, Shogakukan KADOKAWA / Kadokawa Shoten 2016 (3 books) Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa SF Series J Collection, Hayakawa Publishing Sogen Nihon SF Selection, Tokyo Sogensha Hayakawa Publishing (5 books) Tokuma Novels, Tokuma Shoten & Kodansha Novels, Kodansha Hayakawa Bunko JA, Hayakawa Publishing Asahi Shinbun Shuppan Hayakawa Publishing Bungeishunjū 2017 Hayakawa Publishing Kodansha Tokuma Shoten (2 books) Hayakawa Publishing Kawade Shobō Shinsha Kodansha Kawade Shobō Shinsha Kodansha 2018 KADOKAWA Hayakawa Publishing (2 books) Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Publishing Dengeki Bunko, KADOKAWA Kadokawa Books, KADOKAWA Kawade Bunko, Kawade Shobō Shinsha (16 books) Kappa Novels, Kōbunsha 2019 Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Publishing Kodansha (3 books) Seikaisha Fictions, Kodansha Tokyo Sogensha Hayakawa Publishing Tokyo Sogensha 2020 (17 books) Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Publishing Tokyo Sogensha KADOKAWA Hayakawa Publishing Shueisha Hayakawa Publishing 2021 (9 books) Hayakawa Publishing Shinchosha Kodansha Kodansha (32 books) KADOKAWA Hayakawa Publishing Shinchosha Hayakawa Publishing (20 books) Sōgeisha & Jitsugyō no Nihonsha 2022 (7 books) Gagaga Bunko, Shogakukan S-F Magazine, Hayakawa Publishing Hayakawa Publishing KADOKAWA (11 books) Sneaker Bunko, KADOKAWA Tokyo Sogensha Shodensha Hayakawa Publishing2023Hayakawa Publishing (5 books)Hayakawa PublishingHayakawa Publishing『鯉姫婚姻譚』Shinchosha (4 books)KADOKAWA (26 books)MF Books, KADOKAWAShueishaShueisha2024Hayakawa PublishingHayakawa PublishingKADOKAWAKawade Shobo ShinshaKokushoukankokaiIchijinshaHayakawa PublishingBungeishunju2025TO Books一億年のテレスコープHayakawa PublishingBungeishunjūここはすべての夜明けまえHayakawa Publishingはじめてのゾンビ生活Dengeki Bunko, KADOKAWA彗星を追うヴァンパイアKADOKAWA知能浸蝕Hayakawa Publishing2026烙印の名はヒトRokudo NingenHayakawa Publishing
Best Japanese Short Story YearWorkAuthor 1970 Yasutaka Tsutsui 1971 Yasutaka Tsutsui 1972 Yoshio Aramaki 1973 Sakyo Komatsu 1974 Yasutaka Tsutsui 1975 Masaki Yamada 1976 Sakyo Komatsu 1977 Yasutaka Tsutsui 1978 Sakyo Komatsu 1979 Shinji Kajio 1980 Haruka Takachiho 1981 Motoko Arai 1982 Motoko Arai 1983 Chōhei Kanbayashi 1984 Chōhei Kanbayashi 1985 (No award) 1986 Masahiro Noda 1987 Kōshū Tani 1988 Norio Nakai 1989 Jin Kusakami 1990 Mariko Ōhara 1991 Baku Yumemakura 1992 Shinji Kajio 1993 Hiroe Suga 1994 Kenji Ōtsuki 1995 Kenji Ōtsuki 1996 Kō Hiura 1997 Jin Kusakami 1998 Mariko Ōhara 1999 Hiroyuki Morioka 2000 Hōsuke Nojiri 2001 Shinji Kajio 2002 Hirofumi Tanaka 2003 Mizuhito Akiyama 2004 Shinji Kajio 2005 Hirotaka Tobi 2006 Issui Ogawa 2007 Hōsuke Nojiri 2008 Hōsuke Nojiri 2009 Hōsuke Nojiri 2010 Hirotaka Tobi 2011 Issui Ogawa 2012 Hōsuke Nojiri 2013 Chōhei Kanbayashi 2014 Kōshū Tani 2015 Hirotaka Tobi 2016 Hiroshi Yamamoto Hirofumi Tanaka 2017 Gengen Kusano 2018 Katsuie Shibata 2019 Gengen Kusano 2020 Hiroe Suga 2021 Haruna Ikezawa, based on the movie by Mitsuyasu Sakai Katsuie Shibata 2022 Satoshi Ogawa 2023 Koichi Harukure 2024 Mikihiko Hisanaga2025Yuri Matsuzaki2026Iori Miyazawa
Best Translated Long Work
* Winners and joint winners + No winner selected