Kousuke Atari (中 孝介, Atari Kōsuke; born 13 July 1980) is a Japanese pop singer. He is a self-trained musician, and…Kousuke Atari (中 孝介, Atari Kōsuke; born 13 July 1980) is a Japanese pop singer. He is a self-trained musician, and performs in the shimauta (island-song) style of his hometown.
Yōhei Tadano (多田野 曜平, Tadano Yōhei; born March 10, 1962) is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Fukuoka Prefecture…Yōhei Tadano (多田野 曜平, Tadano Yōhei; born March 10, 1962) is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Ichinoya Mitsuru (born 28 December 1960 as Tetsuhiro Matsuda) is a former sumo wrestler from Tokunoshima, Ōshima…Ichinoya Mitsuru (born 28 December 1960 as Tetsuhiro Matsuda) is a former sumo wrestler from Tokunoshima, Ōshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was sandanme 6. He is a rare example of a national university graduate joining professional sumo. Entering the Takasago stable at age 23, he wrestled until the age of 46, making him one of the oldest ever rikishi.
Yuji Nakae (中江 裕司, Nakae Yūji) is a Japanese film director who specializes in films set in Okinawa, featuring Okinawan…Yuji Nakae (中江 裕司, Nakae Yūji) is a Japanese film director who specializes in films set in Okinawa, featuring Okinawan music, language, themes and atmosphere. He shared the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his debut film, Pineapple Tours, which was an omnibus film co-directed with Tsutomu Makiya and Hayashi Tōma. He won the award for Best Director at the 25th Hochi Film Award for Nabbie's Love.
Shun Medoruma (目取真 俊, Medoruma Shun; born 10 October 1960) is a Japanese writer, who, along with Tatsuhiro Oshiro, Tami…Shun Medoruma (目取真 俊, Medoruma Shun; born 10 October 1960) is a Japanese writer, who, along with Tatsuhiro Oshiro, Tami Sakiyama, and Eiki Matayoshi, is one of the most important contemporary writers from Okinawa, Japan. Early in his career he won the 11th Ryukyu Shimpō Short Story Prize in 1983 for "Taiwan Woman: Record of a Fish Shoal" ("Gyogunki"), translated by Shi-Lin Loh in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa, and the New Okinawan Literature Prize in 1986 for "Walking the Street Named Peace Boulevard" ("Heiwa doori to nazukerareta machi o aruite"). He was awarded the 27th Kyushu Arts Festival Literary Prize and the 117th Akutagawa Prize in 1997 for his short story "A Drop of Water" ("Suiteki"). (Also translated as "Droplets" by Michael Molasky, appearing in the collection of translated stories and poems from Japanese into English titled Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese literature from Okinawa.) In 2000, his short story "Mabuigumi" ("Spirit Stuffing," 1998) won the prestigious Kawabata Yasunari and Kiyama Shōhei literary prizes. Medoruma also wrote the screenplay for the film Fūon: The Crying Wind, which received the Montreal Film Festival Innovation Prize in 2004, and published a novel based on the screenplay the same year. His critically acclaimed novel In the Woods of Memory (眼の奥の森, Me no oku no mori; translated by Kasumi Sminkey) is the first full-length novel by an Okinawan writer to be translated and published in English.
Chobin Zukeran (瑞慶覧 長敏, Zukeran Chōbin; born 24 October 1958) is a Japanese former politician who was the mayor of…Chobin Zukeran (瑞慶覧 長敏, Zukeran Chōbin; born 24 October 1958) is a Japanese former politician who was the mayor of Nanjō, Okinawa, and a former member of the House of Representatives of Japan, representing Okinawa 4th district (southern Okinawa Island and the Sakishima Islands).
Kiichiro Jahana (謝花 喜一郎, Jahana Kiichiro; born 1957) is a Japanese politician. He was the vice governor of Okinawa…Kiichiro Jahana (謝花 喜一郎, Jahana Kiichiro; born 1957) is a Japanese politician. He was the vice governor of Okinawa Prefecture and took over the interim governorship for a few days.
Tetsumi Takara (高良 鉄美, Takara Tetsumi; born January 15, 1954) is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of…Tetsumi Takara (高良 鉄美, Takara Tetsumi; born January 15, 1954) is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the National Diet in the House of Councillors. He was elected on July 27, 2019, representing the Okinawa at-large district which encompasses the entirety of Okinawa Prefecture.
Yōichi Iha (伊波 洋一, Iha Yōichi; born 4 January 1952) is a Japanese politician. He has represented the Okinawa at-large…Yōichi Iha (伊波 洋一, Iha Yōichi; born 4 January 1952) is a Japanese politician. He has represented the Okinawa at-large district in the Japanese House of Councillors since 2016. He also served two terms as the mayor of Ginowan, Okinawa.
Eiki Matayoshi (又吉 栄喜, Matayoshi Eiki; born 15 July 1947) is a contemporary Japanese writer. His novels are always set…Eiki Matayoshi (又吉 栄喜, Matayoshi Eiki; born 15 July 1947) is a contemporary Japanese writer. His novels are always set in the Okinawa archipelago, and he is considered one of the most important contemporary novelists from Okinawa. One of his earliest novels, Jōji ga shasatsu shita inoshishi (ジョージが射殺した猪 - "The Wild Boar that George Shot"), published in 1978, became very famous for being inspired by a true, controversial story. A soldier of the US occupation forces in Okinawa shot a local man, and during the trial he declared that he mistakenly took him for a wild boar. The US soldier was declared innocent, arousing a big debate among the locals. Matayoshi became known outside Okinawa thanks to the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, which he won in 1995 for his novel Buta no mukui (豚の報い The Pig's Retribution).
Kantoku Teruya (Japanese: 照屋 寛徳, Hepburn: Teruya Kantoku; 24 July 1945 – 15 April 2022) was a member of the Social…Kantoku Teruya (Japanese: 照屋 寛徳, Hepburn: Teruya Kantoku; 24 July 1945 – 15 April 2022) was a member of the Social Democratic Party from Okinawa, who served in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2021. Teruya was part of the All-Okinawa coalition, which opposed the relocation of a US Marine base to Nago. Teruya was previously a member of the House of Councillors between 1995 and 2001.
Mitsuko Tomon (東門 美津子, Tōmon Mitsuko; born 16 November 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Social Democratic Party…Mitsuko Tomon (東門 美津子, Tōmon Mitsuko; born 16 November 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Social Democratic Party who served as the vice governor of Okinawa from 1994 to 1998.
Teruo Higa (比嘉 照夫, Higa Teruo; born December 28, 1941) is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, to…Teruo Higa (比嘉 照夫, Higa Teruo; born December 28, 1941) is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, to the south of the main Japanese archipelago, and grew up there. Following his graduation from the Department of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, he took his doctorate from the Agricultural Research Department of Kyushu University Graduate School, eventually returning to join the teaching staff of the University of the Ryukyus as lecturer in 1970, becoming assistant professor two years later. He became Professor of Horticulture in 1982. He pioneered the development of "effective microorganism" products. He is a Master of Health and Nutrition with The Beijing DeTao Masters Academy (DTMA), a high-level, multi-discipline, application-oriented higher education institution in Shanghai, China.
Toshinobu Nakasato (仲里 利信, Nakasato Toshinobu; born 16 March 1937) is a former Japanese politician who served as a…Toshinobu Nakasato (仲里 利信, Nakasato Toshinobu; born 16 March 1937) is a former Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives representing Okinawa 4th district (southern Okinawa Island and the Sakishima Islands). Before he entered national politics, Nakasato was a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly for 16 years. He served as the Speaker of the Assembly from 2006 until his retirement from prefectural politics in 2008. He is opposed against the construction of a US base in Yonaguni and the relocation of the Futenma air base within Okinawa Prefecture.
Tokushin Yamauchi (山内 徳信, Yamauchi Tokushin; 15 February 1935 – 26 September 2026) was a Japanese politician of the…Tokushin Yamauchi (山内 徳信, Yamauchi Tokushin; 15 February 1935 – 26 September 2026) was a Japanese politician of the Social Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Yomitan, Okinawa and 1958 graduate of Ryukyu University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007 after serving as mayor of Yomitan for six terms (24 years). Yamauchi died on 26 September 2026, aged 91.