Yuri Hosei (born 20 May 2005) is a Palauan swimmer. She represented Palau at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the women's 50…
Yuri Hosei (born 20 May 2005) is a Palauan swimmer. She represented Palau at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the women's 50 metre freestyle. She is the sister of Jion Hosei, who also competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Together they carried the flag of Palau at the closing ceremony. Hosei is a student at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and is a member of the university's swim team. She found out about her and her brother qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics after their mother called her while she was studying at a restaurant. She and her brother trained in Geneva a few weeks before the Games. Yuri Hosei competed in her event on 3 August 2024 at 11:05 a.m., making her Olympic debut. She competed in the third of the heats and swam a personal best time of 30.52 seconds. She placed equal sixth out of the eight swimmers in her heat, finished with a time not enough to progress to later rounds, and placed 64th overall. The eventual winner of the event was Sarah Sjöström of Sweden with a time of 23.71 seconds. After she competed, she praised her mother for encouraging the siblings to train hard. She also stated that she felt encouraged to compete due to other Oceanian athletes competing at the Games and Sophia University's swim team.
Famous Alumni of Sophia University
Sophia University: 109 people
Ruka Ishikawa (石川 瑠華, Ishikawa Rūka; born March 22, 1997), is a Japanese actress.
Yosuke Mori (森洋介, Mori Yōsuke; born 15 July 1994) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of…
Yosuke Mori (森洋介, Mori Yōsuke; born 15 July 1994) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2024. He previously worked at the Ministry of the Environment and at Roland Berger.
Snow Man is a Japanese idol boy band under Starto Entertainment. The group's activities focused on acrobats and stage…
Snow Man is a Japanese idol boy band under Starto Entertainment. The group's activities focused on acrobats and stage play. Snow Man made their official debut on January 22, 2020, at the same time as SixTones. The groups' simultaneous debut marked the first time for two groups to debut on the same day in the company's history. "D.D."/"Imitation Rain" became the best-selling debut release in Asian history with more than 1.8 million physical copies sold, making Snow Man the best selling debut group since KAT-TUN in 2006. It is also the first male idol single in 17 years to remain in the top 100 of the Oricon chart for more than 100 weeks. Since their debut in 2020, the group has sold over 160 million physical copies in Japan. In 2021, their debut studio album, Snow Mania S1, sold in its first week more than 1.8 million physical copies, and became in the best selling first week for a boy group studio album in Japanese history, and the second best week for a debut album in the country's history. Their single "Grandeur" was the best-selling release of 2021 in Japan with more than 2 million physical copies sold. With this, Snow Man became the first male artist since L'Arc-en-Ciel in 1999 to have multiple releases sell more than a million copies in two consecutive years. In January 2022, Snow Man moved from label Avex Trax to MENT Recording. MENT Recording is a joint label between Avex Entertainment and Starto Entertainment. Kis-My-Ft2, another group from the same company and under Avex Trax, also moved to MENT Recording.
Yui Kanazawa (金澤結衣, Kanazawa Yui; born 23 October 1990) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of…
Yui Kanazawa (金澤結衣, Kanazawa Yui; born 23 October 1990) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2026. She has served as chairwoman of the Liberal Democratic Party in Kanagawa 20th district since 2025.
Yūki Yamato (山戸 結希, Yamato Yūki) (born 1989) is a Japanese screenwriter and director. She has adapted and directed film…
Yūki Yamato (山戸 結希, Yamato Yūki) (born 1989) is a Japanese screenwriter and director. She has adapted and directed film versions of Hot Gimmick and Drowning Love, and was named Best New Director at the 24th Japan Film Professional Awards. She has also directed music videos for Nogizaka46, Momoiro Clover Z, and Radwimps.
Emyli (エミリ, Emiri; born April 23, 1988) is a Japanese, bilingual singer-songwriter based in Tokyo.
Crystal Kay Williams (クリスタル・ケイ・ウィリアムズ, Kurisutaru Kei Wiriamuzu; born February 26, 1986) is a Japanese-born singer…
Crystal Kay Williams (クリスタル・ケイ・ウィリアムズ, Kurisutaru Kei Wiriamuzu; born February 26, 1986) is a Japanese-born singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, Almost Seventeen (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese Oricon charts. Almost Seventeen eventually sold over 400,000 copies and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Crystal Kay, formerly signed to Epic Records, a sub-label of Sony Music Japan for 12 years, suddenly transferred to Delicious Deli Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Japan in 2011. As of April 2021, she has released thirteen albums. Her seventh studio album, All Yours (2007) became Crystal Kay's only number-one release in her career when it debuted on top of the Oricon chart in June 2007. Throughout her career, Crystal Kay has collaborated with M-Flo and BoA, Chemistry as well as other well-known recording artists. With over 5 million records sold to date, Crystal Kay is one of the best-selling musicians in Japan.
Yoko Yazawa (矢沢 洋子, Yazawa Yōko) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, formerly the lead vocalist of The Generous. She is…
Yoko Yazawa (矢沢 洋子, Yazawa Yōko) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, formerly the lead vocalist of The Generous. She is Eikichi Yazawa's eldest daughter, and her mother is one quarter American. While she was 12, she went to school in Los Angeles at the Ojai Valley School and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. In 2010, she made her solo debut with her self-titled album. She is also featured on Joe Inoue's album Dos Angeles as a featured vocalist on the song "Animal"; the two singers originally met in high school in Los Angeles. She is currently the lead vocalist for the group, Piggy Banks, formed in 2014.
Maiko Itai (板井 麻衣子, Itai Maiko; born 21 May 1984 in Ōita Prefecture) is a Japanese model and beauty pageant titleholder…
Maiko Itai (板井 麻衣子, Itai Maiko; born 21 May 1984 in Ōita Prefecture) is a Japanese model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Japan 2010 on 9 March 2010. Itai, the 13th Miss Universe Japan, accepted the crown from Emiri Miyasaka, Miss Universe Japan 2009. She competed in Miss Universe 2010 in Las Vegas, but was unplaced.
Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an "Ex-fat Girl" (often referred to as Doggy Fitness or Poodle…
Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an "Ex-fat Girl" (often referred to as Doggy Fitness or Poodle Fitness) is a short film by renowned art director and commercial film director Nagi Noda who created spots for Nike and Coca-Cola and starring Mariko Takahashi, a California born model. The film was created for Panasonic's Ten Short Movies – Capture the Motion series for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The film is a word-for-word parody of Susan Powter's first workout video. Also, exercising with her in the video are six actors dressed in dog costumes, with actual live dogs' heads superimposed over their real heads. Nagi Noda, in her artist's statement, explained that she arrived at the poodle concept after noticing that the dogs' hair cuts resembled muscles. She believed that this concept would help her video appeal to people of all ages. The video circulated throughout the Internet since it was posted on the Panasonic website along with the other nine short films in 2004. Possibly contributing to its popularity, Noda never explains in the video why people in the video are wearing dog costumes, leaving viewers to speculate.
Yuri "Yureeka" Yasuda (Japanese: 安田有里; born 21 June 1983) also known as Yureeka is a Japanese businesswoman and art…
Yuri "Yureeka" Yasuda (Japanese: 安田有里; born 21 June 1983) also known as Yureeka is a Japanese businesswoman and art collector. Born in Tokyo and raised in New York City, she graduated from Sophia University with a bachelor's degree in Comparative Cultures.
Fumiaki Kobayashi (小林 史明, Kobayashi Fumiaki; born April 8, 1983 in Takaoka, Toyama) is a Japanese politician…
Fumiaki Kobayashi (小林 史明, Kobayashi Fumiaki; born April 8, 1983 in Takaoka, Toyama) is a Japanese politician representing Hiroshima 7th district in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet, for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Kobayashi, a graduate of Eisū Gakkan High School in Fukuyama, Hiroshima and Sophia University in Chiyoda, Tokyo, entered into the service of telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo after his graduation in 2007. He worked for the company until 2012 when he entered national politics: He succeeded Yōichi Miyazawa as LDP candidate in Hiroshima 7th district (Fukuyama city) for the 2012 general election of the House of Representatives. Miyazawa, the nephew and successor of former LDP president Kiichi Miyazawa, had lost the district in 2009, but ran successfully for the House of Councillors in 2010. In 2012, Kobayashi defeated Democratic incumbent Takashi Wada by a solid margin and won his first term in the House of Representatives. He is a descendant of the late Masao Kobayashi who headed the Fukuyama Chamber of Commerce and Industry for more than 20 years and was a one-term member of the House of Councillors for the Ryokufūkai ("early-summer breeze society"), elected in 1950 in the 50-member nationwide district.
Ema Fujisawa (藤澤 恵麻, Fujisawa Ema; born December 26, 1982, in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan) is a Japanese model and actress…
Ema Fujisawa (藤澤 恵麻, Fujisawa Ema; born December 26, 1982, in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan) is a Japanese model and actress represented by Seventh Avenue. She is nicknamed Ema-chan (えまちゃん). Fujisawa is an exclusive model for non-no and More.
Tadatoshi Fujimaki (藤巻 忠俊, Fujimaki Tadatoshi; born June 9, 1982) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator…
Tadatoshi Fujimaki (藤巻 忠俊, Fujimaki Tadatoshi; born June 9, 1982) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of sports manga Kuroko's Basketball and Robot × LaserBeam, as well as Kill Blue, all of which have been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Ayaka Tanihara (谷原 絢香, Tanihara Ayaka), born Ayaka Kimura (木村 絢香, Kimura Ayaka) October 30, 1981 and known…
Ayaka Tanihara (谷原 絢香, Tanihara Ayaka), born Ayaka Kimura (木村 絢香, Kimura Ayaka) October 30, 1981 and known professionally as Ayaka Nagate (長手 絢香, Nagate Ayaka), is a Japanese actress and former singer. From 1998 to 2008, Nagate was part of Hello! Project as a member of the Japan-based girl group Coconuts Musume.
Tomoko Yamashita (Japanese: ヤマシタ トモコ, Hepburn: Yamashita Tomoko; born May 9, 1981) is a Japanese manga artist.
Taro Ishida (born November 8, 1979) is a Japanese composer and music producer who specializes in gagaku, a type of…
Taro Ishida (born November 8, 1979) is a Japanese composer and music producer who specializes in gagaku, a type of classical Japanese music. He is best known for arranging the soundtrack for the Hollywood series Shogun, which was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Music Composition and Main Title Theme Music.
Kazuma Miki (三木一馬, Miki Kazuma; born September 12, 1977) is a Japanese light novel editor. He is CEO of Straight Edge…
Kazuma Miki (三木一馬, Miki Kazuma; born September 12, 1977) is a Japanese light novel editor. He is CEO of Straight Edge Inc, editor-in-chief of LINE novel, and outside director of Egg Firm. He is from the Tokushima prefecture. He graduated from Sophia University as a physics major.
Tomokazu Matsuyama (松山智一 Matsuyama Tomokazu, born April 30, 1976, in Takayama, Gifu, Japan) is a Japanese contemporary…
Tomokazu Matsuyama (松山智一 Matsuyama Tomokazu, born April 30, 1976, in Takayama, Gifu, Japan) is a Japanese contemporary visual artist. Matsuyama lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Matsuyama is influenced by a variety of subjects, including Japanese art from the Edo and Meiji eras, classical Greek and Roman statuary, French Renaissance painting, postwar contemporary art, and the visual language of global, popular culture as embodied by mass-produced commodities.
Hikaru Nishida (西田 ひかる, Nishida Hikaru; born August 16, 1972) is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was born in…
Hikaru Nishida (西田 ひかる, Nishida Hikaru; born August 16, 1972) is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and made her singing debut on April 6, 1988 with the release of the single "Fifteen", named after her age at the time. Nishida is affiliated with Manase Productions.
Takatomi Nobunaga (Japanese: 信長 貴富 Nobunaga Takatomi) is a Japanese composer, principally of choral music. In 1994 he…
Takatomi Nobunaga (Japanese: 信長 貴富 Nobunaga Takatomi) is a Japanese composer, principally of choral music. In 1994 he graduated from the Department of Education in the Faculty of Literature at Sophia University. He taught himself composition. His choral music is currently frequently performed in Japan.
IGN is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of…
IGN is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. Its headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former editor-in-chief, Peer Schneider. The IGN website was created by the media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. IGN features articles on games, films, anime, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN is also distributed on mobile platforms, console programs available on the Xbox and PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mobile, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat. Originally, IGN was the flagship website of IGN Entertainment, a website which owned and operated several other websites oriented towards players' interests, games, and entertainment, such as Rotten Tomatoes, GameSpy, GameStats, VE3D, TeamXbox, Vault Network, FilePlanet, and AskMen. IGN was sold to publishing company Ziff Davis in February 2013.
Gakuto Mikumo (三雲 岳斗, Mikumo Gakuto; born 1970) is a Japanese writer of mystery and science fiction light novels from…
Gakuto Mikumo (三雲 岳斗, Mikumo Gakuto; born 1970) is a Japanese writer of mystery and science fiction light novels from the Oita Prefecture in Japan. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He studied the English language at Sophia University, where he graduated. In 1998 Mikumo won silver in the fifth Dengeki Novel Prize with his debut novel, Called Gehenna. He went on to win the Japan SF Rookie of the Year Award in 1999 with M.G.H., and a special prize in the Sneaker Awards in 2000 with Earth Reverse. Mikumo is currently most well known for the Asura Cryin' series and the Strike the Blood series.
Yumiko Aoyagi (青柳 祐美子, Aoyagi Yumiko; born 1970 in Yokohama, Kanagawa) is a Japanese television writer, whose work also…
Yumiko Aoyagi (青柳 祐美子, Aoyagi Yumiko; born 1970 in Yokohama, Kanagawa) is a Japanese television writer, whose work also covers publishing and film. She worked briefly in 2007 on the United States web show lonelygirl15 as a writer, director, and producer.
Kiyoshi Adachi (born December 14, 1969, in Ōita Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese politician who served as a member of…
Kiyoshi Adachi (born December 14, 1969, in Ōita Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Councillors of Japan from 2019 until his resignation in 2023 to run for Governor of Ōita Prefecture. He represented the Ōita at-large district as an independent. He was a member of the Committee on Financial Affairs.
Joshua Lawrence "Jake" Adelstein (born March 28, 1969) is an American journalist, crime writer, and blogger who has…
Joshua Lawrence "Jake" Adelstein (born March 28, 1969) is an American journalist, crime writer, and blogger who has spent most of his career in Japan. He is the author of Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, which inspired the 2022 Max original streaming television series Tokyo Vice, starring Ansel Elgort as Adelstein.
Koichiro Shima (嶋 浩一郎, Shima Kōichirō; born November 2, 1968) is a Japanese creative director and Co-CEO of the…
Koichiro Shima (嶋 浩一郎, Shima Kōichirō; born November 2, 1968) is a Japanese creative director and Co-CEO of the Hakuhodo Kettle.
Megumu Sagisawa (鷺沢萠; 20 June 1968 – 11 April 2004) was the pen name of Japanese novelist and writer Megumi Matsuo…
Megumu Sagisawa (鷺沢萠; 20 June 1968 – 11 April 2004) was the pen name of Japanese novelist and writer Megumi Matsuo (松尾めぐみ). Her works of fiction have been described as focusing on topics such as complex interpersonal relationships and the anxieties of the youth. Sagisawa published her debut novel Kawaberi no michi (川べりの道, The Path by the River) in 1987, for which she became the youngest person to win the Bungakukai Prize for New Authors. She later won the 1992 Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for Kakeru shōnen (駆ける少年, The Running Boy) and became a five-time nominee for the Akutagawa Prize.
Atsushi Matsuura (松浦 篤志, Matsuura Atsushi; born 10 May 1968) is a Japanese guitarist born in Shiojiri, Nagano, Japan.…
Atsushi Matsuura (松浦 篤志, Matsuura Atsushi; born 10 May 1968) is a Japanese guitarist born in Shiojiri, Nagano, Japan. He currently resides in the Philippines.
Tadashi Tokieda (Japanese: 時枝正; born 1968) is a Japanese mathematician, working in mathematics and physics. He is a…
Tadashi Tokieda (Japanese: 時枝正; born 1968) is a Japanese mathematician, working in mathematics and physics. He is a professor of mathematics at Stanford University; he formerly was a fellow and Director of Studies of Mathematics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He also invents, collects, and studies toys that uniquely reveal and explore real-world surprises of mathematics and physics. In comparison with most mathematicians, he had an unusual path in life: he started as a painter, and then became a classical philologist, before transitioning to mathematics. Tokieda is known for his public lectures where he demonstrates mathematical phenomena.
Yasushi Watanabe (渡辺 靖, Watanabe Yasushi) (born 1967) is a Japanese anthropologist and a full professor at Keio…
Yasushi Watanabe (渡辺 靖, Watanabe Yasushi) (born 1967) is a Japanese anthropologist and a full professor at Keio University. He earned a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology at Harvard University in 1997. After post-doctoral fellowships at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, he joined Keio University's Graduate School of Media and Governance as well as Faculty of Environment and Information Studies in 1999. He attained the rank of full professor in 2005, and is one of Japan's most prominent experts on soft power, public diplomacy, cultural policy and American Studies. During the 2003–04 academic years, he was a recipient of an Abe Fellowship(Social Science Research Council and the Japan Foundation), which he held at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He was awarded a prestigious Japan Academy Medal in 2005. He served as a Fellow at Downing College, Cambridge in 2007, a visiting professor at Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Science-Po) in 2013 and a Japan Scholar at the Wilson Center in 2018. He was a visiting scholar at the School of International Studies at Peking University in 2017 and at College of Europe in 2018. He has been selected for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) by the U.S. Department of State in 2018. In 2025, he was selected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the editorial boards of Anthem Studies in Soft Power and Public Diplomacy, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and International Journal of Public Diplomacy Research. He is a director (program chair) at the International House of Japan, a co-chair of the Japan Advisory Council of the Salzburg Global Seminar, and an adjunct senior fellow at NIRA (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement). He is a member of Harvard Club of Japan. He has served on the executive board of the Japanese Association for American Studies, the advisory panel on the Japan Foundation, the advisory panel on public diplomacy of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the advisory panel (chair) on NHK World. He has also served as an editorial member of Gaiko (Diplomacy) magazine, a book reviewer for Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, among others.
Megumi Hirose (広瀬 めぐみ, Hirose Megumi; born June 27, 1966) is a Japanese politician and lawyer who served in the House…
Megumi Hirose (広瀬 めぐみ, Hirose Megumi; born June 27, 1966) is a Japanese politician and lawyer who served in the House of Councillors for Iwate Prefecture from 2022 to 2024. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. She is the first LDP member to represent Iwate as a councilor since Motoo Shiina left the party in 1993.
Kyouichi Tachikawa (立川 京一, Tachikawa Kyōichi; born 1966) is a Japanese historian specializing in international politics…
Kyouichi Tachikawa (立川 京一, Tachikawa Kyōichi; born 1966) is a Japanese historian specializing in international politics military history, specifically French Indochina. He was born in the Tokyo. He is a graduate of the Sophia University foreign language department. As of 1999, he lectures part-time at Sophia University and at Caritas Junior College. Currently he is working as a researcher for the Japanese Ministry of Defense where he does research on military history.
Harunobu Yonenaga (米長 晴信, Yonenaga Harunobu) (21 October 1965 – 16 June 2026) was a Japanese politician of the…
Harunobu Yonenaga (米長 晴信, Yonenaga Harunobu) (21 October 1965 – 16 June 2026) was a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A graduate of Sophia University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007, after working at Fuji Television for 17 years. He died on 16 June 2026, at the age of 60.
Tetsuya Yamano (Shinjitai: 山野 哲也, born 2 October 1965, in Tokyo) is a Japanese racing driver. He won three consecutive…
Tetsuya Yamano (Shinjitai: 山野 哲也, born 2 October 1965, in Tokyo) is a Japanese racing driver. He won three consecutive JGTC/Super GT GT300 class championship, notably with three different teams in all occasions.
Aiko Shimajiri (島尻 安伊子, Shimajiri Aiko; born March 4, 1965) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party…
Aiko Shimajiri (島尻 安伊子, Shimajiri Aiko; born March 4, 1965) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who has served as a member of the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Shimajiri was elected for the first time in 2007 and re-elected in 2010 in Okinawa Prefecture constituency. Shimajiri was appointed the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs in the cabinet reshuffle on October 7, 2015, and is one of 3 women serving in Shinzo Abe's cabinet. In an interview following her appointment as the minister of state, Shimajiri stated that she will not deal with issues regarding the construction of new U.S. military facilities in Okinawa. Shimajiri lost her Diet seat to former Ginowan, Okinawa mayor Yoichi Iha, a critic of the US military presence in Okinawa supported by a coalition of opposition parties, in the 2016 Japanese House of Councillors election. This was viewed by some analysts as a setback for the proposed relocation of Futenma.
Mukhriz bin Mahathir (Jawi: مخرج بن محاضر; born 25 November 1964) is a Malaysian politician and businessman who served…
Mukhriz bin Mahathir (Jawi: مخرج بن محاضر; born 25 November 1964) is a Malaysian politician and businessman who served as the 11th and 13th Menteri Besar of Kedah from May 2013 to February 2016 and again from May 2018 to May 2020, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak as well as former Minister Mustapa Mohamed from March 2008 to May 2013, Member of Parliament (MP) for Jerlun from March 2008 to May 2013 and again from May 2018 to November 2022 as well as Member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Jitra from May 2018 to August 2023 and for Ayer Hitam from May 2013 to May 2018. He is the third son of Mahathir Mohamad, the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He has been the first and founding president of the Homeland Fighters Party (PEJUANG) since its foundation in August 2020. He was the first and founding deputy president and State Chairman of Kedah of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) from party foundation in September 2016 to his membership termination in May 2020 and was also the State Chairman of Kedah of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He was also a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He left UMNO with Mahathir and they founded BERSATU in 2016. Mahathir and his BERSATU memberships were terminated and they founded PEJUANG in 2020. He is one of the two Menteris Besar of Malaysia who represented two different political parties and coalitions.
Mikiko Otani (born November 18, 1964) is a Japanese international human rights lawyer, and women's and children's…
Mikiko Otani (born November 18, 1964) is a Japanese international human rights lawyer, and women's and children's rights advocate. She has been a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 2017 and served as its chairperson from May 2021 to May 2023 succeeding Ann Marie Skelton. She is the Rotating Honorary Chair in Enforcement of Children's Rights (2023/2024) at Leiden University. Otani is a trustee at 5Rights Foundation, an organisation founded by Baroness Beeban Kidron to promote the rights of the child online.
Kōichirō Genba (玄葉 光一郎, Genba Kōichirō; born 20 May 1964) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister for Foreign…
Kōichirō Genba (玄葉 光一郎, Genba Kōichirō; born 20 May 1964) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2012. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, and was a member to the Democratic Party of Japan and its successor Democratic Party until its merger in 2018. He left the party briefly before the merger, and joined the Group of Independents House of Representatives caucus of other former Democrats a few days later. A native of Tamura, Fukushima and graduate of Sophia University, he was later accepted into the prestigious Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, an institution founded by Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita which grooms future civic leaders of Japan. Genba was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 after serving in the assembly of Fukushima Prefecture for one term. In September 2011 he was chosen as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Genba was part of Kenta Izumi's shadow cabinet 'Next Cabinet' as the shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Koichi Kato (加藤 公一, Katō Kōichi; born 6 April 1964) is a Japanese politician from Tokyo and a member of the Democratic…
Koichi Kato (加藤 公一, Katō Kōichi; born 6 April 1964) is a Japanese politician from Tokyo and a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Chiyoda, Tokyo and graduate of Sophia University, he worked at Recruit from 1988 to 1996. Kato was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000 and served until 2012.
Yukari Satō (佐藤 ゆかり, Satō Yukari; born 19 August 1961) is a Japanese economist and former politician of the Liberal…
Yukari Satō (佐藤 ゆかり, Satō Yukari; born 19 August 1961) is a Japanese economist and former politician of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Franz Waldenberger is professor for Japanese economy at LMU Munich and the director of the German Institute for…
Franz Waldenberger is professor for Japanese economy at LMU Munich and the director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ).
Seiko Noda (野田 聖子, Noda Seiko; born 3 September 1960) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister-in-charge of…
Seiko Noda (野田 聖子, Noda Seiko; born 3 September 1960) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister-in-charge of Measures against Declining Birthrate from October 2021 to August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she previously served as Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications from 2017 to 2018 under Shinzo Abe. Noda has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993. She is a self-described conservative and was a candidate in the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party Leadership Election, however she was eliminated in a run-off, placing fourth in the first round.
Ōsama (王様, Ōsama; born Ōsama Jirō (王様 治郎, Ousama Jirou)) is a Japanese musician and guitarist. He is from Nishinomiya…
Ōsama (王様, Ōsama; born Ōsama Jirō (王様 治郎, Ousama Jirou)) is a Japanese musician and guitarist. He is from Nishinomiya in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Yoriko Mekata (目加田 頼子, Mekata Yoriko) (born March 30, 1960) is a Japanese television announcer for NHK.
David Luke Howell is an American historian specializing in the social, cultural, and economic history of early modern…
David Luke Howell is an American historian specializing in the social, cultural, and economic history of early modern Japan. He is the Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Professor of Japanese History at Harvard University, where he holds a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Howell's scholarship focuses on the transformation of social relations, economic life, and identity in Japan from the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) into the modern era. His work is regarded as influential in shifting the historiography of Japan toward regional and translocal perspectives.
Toshiya Shinohara (篠原 俊哉, Shinohara Toshiya; born October 20, 1959) is a Japanese film director.
Kaoru Mizuki (水木薫, Mizuki Kaoru) is a Japanese actress. She won the Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 15th…
Kaoru Mizuki (水木薫, Mizuki Kaoru) is a Japanese actress. She won the Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 15th Yokohama Film Festival for Tsuge Yoshiharu World: Gensenkan Shujin.
Kōtarō Yoshida (吉田 鋼太郎, Yoshida Kōtarō; born January 14, 1959, in Tokyo) is a Japanese actor and theatre director. He…
Kōtarō Yoshida (吉田 鋼太郎, Yoshida Kōtarō; born January 14, 1959, in Tokyo) is a Japanese actor and theatre director. He established himself on the stage in classical theatre, becoming a regular in Yukio Ninagawa's Shakespeare productions and co-founding the theatre company Performance Unit AUN in 1997. Television roles in Hanzawa Naoki (2013) and Hanako to Anne (2014) brought him wider recognition and led to frequent film and television work. In 2016 he succeeded Ninagawa as the second artistic director of the Sai no Kuni Shakespeare Series. He is affiliated with Horipro.