Yūko Sasaki (佐々木 優子, Sasaki Yūko; born 18 September 1982), also known as Yūko Saito, is a Japanese former cricketer who…Yūko Sasaki (佐々木 優子, Sasaki Yūko; born 18 September 1982), also known as Yūko Saito, is a Japanese former cricketer who played for the national women's team in 2003 in three One Day International matches. Born in Saitama in 1982, she was primarily a wicket-keeper.
Kohmi Hirose (広瀬 香美, Hirose Kōmi; born April 12, 1966) is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter. Since the release of…Kohmi Hirose (広瀬 香美, Hirose Kōmi; born April 12, 1966) is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter. Since the release of her million-selling single "Romance no Kamisama" in 1993, Hirose has recorded music for winter-sporting goods company Alpen's advertising campaigns. This has prompted the Japanese public to bestow upon her the nickname of "Winter Queen" (冬の女王, Fuyu no Joō).
Masanobu Endō (遠藤 雅伸, Endō Masanobu; born February 23, 1959) is a Japanese game designer, president of Game Studio and…Masanobu Endō (遠藤 雅伸, Endō Masanobu; born February 23, 1959) is a Japanese game designer, president of Game Studio and Mobile & Game Studio, and the director of Digital Games Research Association Japan. He formerly worked for Namco, where he created arcade games and is best known for Xevious and The Tower of Druaga, which were important titles in the scrolling shooter and action role-playing game genres, respectively.
Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実, Matsutōya Yumi; born January 19, 1954), nicknamed Yuming (ユーミン, Yūmin), is a Japanese singer…Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実, Matsutōya Yumi; born January 19, 1954), nicknamed Yuming (ユーミン, Yūmin), is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Matsutoya often writes both the lyrics and the music to her songs, and is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances. She is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Japanese popular music. Matsutoya's recording career has been commercially successful, with more than 42 million records sold. In 1990, her album The Gates of Heaven became the first album to be certified "2x million" by the RIAJ, and she has had twenty-one No. 1 albums listed on the Oricon charts. She is the only artist to have at least one number-one album every year on the Oricon charts for 18 consecutive years. After gaining several years of experience as a session musician, she debuted as a singer-songwriter in 1972. During her early career, she worked under her maiden name Yumi Arai (荒井 由実, Arai Yumi). In 1975, Arai became known as a composer for "Ichigo Hakusho wo Mou Ichido", a commercially successful song recorded by the folk duo BanBan. She also gained popularity as a vocalist in the same year through the success of "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai", which became her first number-one hit on Japan's Oricon Charts. "Haru-yo, Koi" is another of her famous songs. In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture, it is written that "Yuming incorporated influences from progressive rock and European pop to produce a sophisticated, upper-middle-class female Japanese voice and sound in a contemporary musical and journalistic world dominated by discussions of folk music and social critique. This musical idiom is generally thought to have been first realised on [...] Cobalt Hour". The album The 14th Moon and the three albums that ranked in the top 10 of the Japanese charts in 1976 (Cobalt Hour, Yuming Brand, and Hikōki-gumo) "contained several songs which are considered to be early classics of the J-pop genre." After marrying her musical collaborator Masataka Matsutoya in 1976, Arai began recording under her married name and has continued to do so. Throughout the 1980s, Matsutoya's music was prominently featured in advertisements for Mitsubishi Motors in her native Japan and her image was used to promote their vehicles. In addition to multiple hit singles, she has obtained enormous commercial success on the Japanese Albums Chart, particularly during the late 1980s and the first half of the 1990s.
Kazuhiko Katō (Japanese: 加藤一彦, Hepburn: Katō Kazuhiko; May 26, 1937 – April 11, 2019), known by the pen name Monkey…Kazuhiko Katō (Japanese: 加藤一彦, Hepburn: Katō Kazuhiko; May 26, 1937 – April 11, 2019), known by the pen name Monkey Punch (モンキー・パンチ, Monkī Panchi), was a Japanese manga artist, best known for his series Lupin III.
Masaaki Ōsumi (大隅 正秋, Ōsumi Masaaki; born November 26, 1934) is a Japanese theatre director and film director who is…Masaaki Ōsumi (大隅 正秋, Ōsumi Masaaki; born November 26, 1934) is a Japanese theatre director and film director who is known for his work in animated television series and films. He was born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. He completed the Master's Program in Media Science, Graduate School of Media Science, Tokyo University of Technology. He is also the creative advisor at the Katayanagi Research Institute, Tokyo University of Technology.
Hiroyuki Yoshikawa (吉川弘之) is a Japanese engineer. He specialises in precision engineering and general design theory. He…Hiroyuki Yoshikawa (吉川弘之) is a Japanese engineer. He specialises in precision engineering and general design theory. He served as the 25th president of the University of Tokyo and the 20th and 21st president of the Science Council of Japan. He is a member of the Japan Academy and a recipient of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Kensuke Ushio (Japanese: 牛尾 憲輔, Hepburn: Ushio Kensuke; born March 1, 1983) (stylized as kensuke ushio) is a Japanese…Kensuke Ushio (Japanese: 牛尾 憲輔, Hepburn: Ushio Kensuke; born March 1, 1983) (stylized as kensuke ushio) is a Japanese composer, rock and EBM musician. He also releases work under the moniker Agraph. He is a member of Japanese rock band Lama. Together with Lama, he released two full-length studio records: New! in 2011 and Modanica a year later. Both albums charted on the Oricon Albums Chart. As an EBM musician, he released three albums, all of which peaked in the Japanese Albums Chart. He wrote and composed soundtracks for several anime television series and movies, such as A Silent Voice, Chainsaw Man, Devilman Crybaby, Liz and the Blue Bird, The Dangers in My Heart and Dandadan.
