Kentaro Sonoura (薗浦 健太郎, Sonoura Kentarō; born 3 June 1972) is a former Japanese politician who served in the House of…
Kentaro Sonoura (薗浦 健太郎, Sonoura Kentarō; born 3 June 1972) is a former Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He represented the 5th District of Chiba prefecture as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Takamatsu, Kagawa and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he worked as a reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun and as an aide to Taro Aso. Sonoura was elected for the first time in the 2005 general election after an unsuccessful run in 2003. Sonoura resigned from office on 21 December 2022 and was shortly afterwards convicted of violating the Political Fund Control Law.
Famous People Born in the Year of the Rat
Rat: 2,116 people
Yumi Tomei (東明 有美, Tōmei Yumi; born 1 June 1972) is a former Japanese football player. She played for Japan national…
Yumi Tomei (東明 有美, Tōmei Yumi; born 1 June 1972) is a former Japanese football player. She played for Japan national team.
Kimiko Wakiyama (born June 1972) is a Japanese whistler, composer, pianist, and ukulele player under Victor…
Kimiko Wakiyama (born June 1972) is a Japanese whistler, composer, pianist, and ukulele player under Victor Entertainment.
Takashi Yamahashi (山橋 貴史, Yamahashi Takashi; born May 31, 1972) is a former Japanese football player he is currently…
Takashi Yamahashi (山橋 貴史, Yamahashi Takashi; born May 31, 1972) is a former Japanese football player he is currently manager Japan Football League club Verspah Oita and who is team manager of Thailand U23.
Atsuhiko Mori (森 敦彦, Mori Atsuhiko; born May 31, 1972) is a former Japanese professional football player. He played as…
Atsuhiko Mori (森 敦彦, Mori Atsuhiko; born May 31, 1972) is a former Japanese professional football player. He played as a goalkeeper, most notably with Yokohama Flügels from 1991 to 1997.
Hirofumi Suga (菅 宏文 Suga Hirofumi; born 31 May 1972) is a Japanese garden designer (called 庭師 “niwashi” in Japanese)…
Hirofumi Suga (菅 宏文 Suga Hirofumi; born 31 May 1972) is a Japanese garden designer (called 庭師 “niwashi” in Japanese) and landscape architect, and is currently the CEO of 1moku Landscape Design and Research and 1moku Spain S.L. Some of his notable works include the rooftop garden design for Shanghai Grand Cinema, the Japanese Garden of Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, and the garden of Taiko-en.
Hiroshi Tanaka (田中 衆史, Tanaka Hiroshi; born May 29, 1972 in Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese figure skating coach and…
Hiroshi Tanaka (田中 衆史, Tanaka Hiroshi; born May 29, 1972 in Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese figure skating coach and former competitor. He competed in Ice Dancing with Aya Kawai and Kayo Shirahata. Tanaka and Kawai placed 23rd in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. They were two-time Japanese national champions.
Takuya Kita (北 卓也, Kita Takuya; born 29 May 1972) is a professional Japanese basketball coach and former player.
Michiyoshi Yunoki (柚木 道義, Yunoki Michiyoshi; born 28 May 1972) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of…
Michiyoshi Yunoki (柚木 道義, Yunoki Michiyoshi; born 28 May 1972) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Representatives for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Kurashiki, Okayama and graduate of Okayama University, he worked at the publisher Yurindo from 1997 to 2002. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2005 for the DPJ after an unsuccessful run in 2003.
Hirotoshi Kitagawa (北川 博敏, Kitagawa Hirotoshi; born May 27, 1972) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball infielder.…
Hirotoshi Kitagawa (北川 博敏, Kitagawa Hirotoshi; born May 27, 1972) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball infielder. In 2001, his pinch hit walk-off grand slam erased a 3-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning and secured the pennant for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes.
Katsuhiro Ueo (植尾勝浩, Ueo Katsuhiro; 26 May 1972, Tamana, Kumamoto) is a Japanese professional drifting driver, whose…
Katsuhiro Ueo (植尾勝浩, Ueo Katsuhiro; 26 May 1972, Tamana, Kumamoto) is a Japanese professional drifting driver, whose currently competing in D1 Grand Prix with a Nissan Silvia S15, well known for formerly using the Toyota AE86 in the series. He is also known as, Therefore, it is (デスカラデスネ/ですからですね Desukara Desune). He is the first driver to win both D1 Grand Prix and D1 Street Legal after winning it in 2002 and 2016 respectively. He is the oldest driver to win D1GP round at 51 years old
Hikari Ishida (Japanese: 石田ひかり, Hepburn: Ishida Hikari) (born May 25, 1972) is a Japanese actress. She starred along…
Hikari Ishida (Japanese: 石田ひかり, Hepburn: Ishida Hikari) (born May 25, 1972) is a Japanese actress. She starred along with Megumi Odaka and Natsuki Ozawa in the TV-series Hana no Asuka-gumi!. She also released several singles and six albums and she had one minor hit with the song "Emerald no Suna". Ishida also made numerous commercials for hair products and released several photobooks and videos. Ishida has had at least one song appear on the NHK program Minna no Uta. She is the younger sister of Yuriko Ishida, who is also an actress.
Shigeo Okumura (奥村 茂雄, Okumura Shigeo; born May 25, 1972) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to Mexican…
Shigeo Okumura (奥村 茂雄, Okumura Shigeo; born May 25, 1972) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He also performs for Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a member of Contra Unit and a former two-time MLW World Tag Team Champion with Satoshi Kojima as CozyMAX. Okumura originally worked in his native Japan for Tokyo Pro Wrestling (TPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) before moving to Mexico in 2004 to work for CMLL full-time. He was the leader of the stable La Ola Amarilla (Spanish for "The Yellow Wave"), often teaming with Japanese wrestlers who visited Mexico on excursion. Okumura is a former CMLL World Trios Champion, CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Champion and Occidente Light Heavyweight Champion. Through CMLL's partnerships, he has also wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) in the United States.
Takuya Kuwabara Japanese: 桑原卓也 is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division.
Yasuhiro Enoki (born May 22, 1972) is a former baseball player from Japan. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the…
Yasuhiro Enoki (born May 22, 1972) is a former baseball player from Japan. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Pacific League.
Kazue Nanjo (南條 和恵, Nanjō Kazue; née Nagai Nagai (永井); born 19 March 1972) is a retired Japanese judoka. Nanjo was born…
Kazue Nanjo (南條 和恵, Nanjō Kazue; née Nagai Nagai (永井); born 19 March 1972) is a retired Japanese judoka. Nanjo was born in Uji, Kyoto, and began judo at the age of 5. She belonged to Daicolo Co., Ltd. after graduating from University of Tsukuba in 1995. In 1997, she participated in the World Championships but was defeated by Carolina Mariani from Argentina. In 1998, she also participated in the Asian Games held in Bangkok and won a bronze medal. Nanjo was good at Seoi nage, Tomoe nage and Newaza, learned by Shōzō Fujii at Tenri University. She was known as a rival of Noriko Narazaki who is a classmate of the same university and former world champion. As of 2010, Nanjo coaches judo at Sendai University with her husband.
Yoshiyuki Kubota (窪田 義行, Kubota Yoshiyuki; born May 18, 1972) is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 7-dan.
Masakazu Fukuda (福田 雅一, Fukuda Masakazu) (May 17, 1972 – April 19, 2000) was a Japanese professional wrestler who is…
Masakazu Fukuda (福田 雅一, Fukuda Masakazu) (May 17, 1972 – April 19, 2000) was a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his appearances in WAR and NJPW. He also joined a short-lived stable known as Fighting Club G-EGGS, the stable included Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Brian Johnston and Yutaka Yoshie.
Hideki Naganuma (born May 16, 1972) is a Japanese composer and DJ who primarily does work for video games. Naganuma is…
Hideki Naganuma (born May 16, 1972) is a Japanese composer and DJ who primarily does work for video games. Naganuma is best known for his soundtrack for the game Jet Set Radio and its sequel Jet Set Radio Future.
Hiroyuki Takei (武井 宏之, Takei Hiroyuki; born May 15, 1972 in Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. He…
Hiroyuki Takei (武井 宏之, Takei Hiroyuki; born May 15, 1972 in Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the creator of Shaman King.
Yūki Himura (日村 勇紀, Himura Yūki; born 14 May 1972) is a Japanese comedian, actor and voice actor. He performs tsukkomi…
Yūki Himura (日村 勇紀, Himura Yūki; born 14 May 1972) is a Japanese comedian, actor and voice actor. He performs tsukkomi (and occasionally boke) in the comedy duo Bananaman. His partner is Osamu Shitara.
Yoshiaki Hatakeda (畠田 好章, Hatakeda Yoshiaki; born 12 May 1972) is a Japanese former gymnast who competed in the 1992…
Yoshiaki Hatakeda (畠田 好章, Hatakeda Yoshiaki; born 12 May 1972) is a Japanese former gymnast who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics and in the 1996 Summer Olympics. He is the father of Hitomi Hatakeda and Chiaki Hatakeda, members of Japan's women's national team and candidates for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Magy (マギー Magī, born Yūichi Kojima, 児島雄一 Kojima Yūichi, on May 12, 1972) is a Japanese actor.
Wakanoyama Hiroshi (born May 12, 1972 as Hiroshi Nishizaki) is a former sumo wrestler from Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture…
Wakanoyama Hiroshi (born May 12, 1972 as Hiroshi Nishizaki) is a former sumo wrestler from Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi.
Megumi Odaka (小高恵美, Odaka Megumi; born May 9, 1972, in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) is a former Japanese idol, actress…
Megumi Odaka (小高恵美, Odaka Megumi; born May 9, 1972, in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) is a former Japanese idol, actress and singer. She is best known for the role of Miki Saegusa in six Godzilla films released from 1989 to 1995.
Shigetaka Kurita (栗田 穣崇; born May 9, 1972, Gifu Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese interface designer often cited for his…
Shigetaka Kurita (栗田 穣崇; born May 9, 1972, Gifu Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese interface designer often cited for his early work with emoji sets. Many refer to him as the creator of the emoji, a claim that has been corrected and clarified in recent years. He was part of the team that created one of the first emojis used solely for communication, a heart-shaped pictogram that appeared on an NTT DoCoMo pager aimed at teenagers. It went on to become the Red Heart emoji. This development and the aftermath of its use led Kurita to design a set of 176 colored emojis. Many of the general-use emojis used today by Unicode can be traced back to Kurita's set. He now works for Dwango Co. Ltd., a Japanese game company owned by Kadokawa Dwango Corporation. The NTT DoCoMo emoji set he created is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
Tamiki Wakaki (若木 民喜, Wakaki Tamiki; born May 9, 1972) is a Japanese manga artist, notable for his manga series, The…
Tamiki Wakaki (若木 民喜, Wakaki Tamiki; born May 9, 1972) is a Japanese manga artist, notable for his manga series, The World God Only Knows.
Yoshikazu Nonomura (野々村 芳和, Nonomura Yoshikazu; born May 8, 1972) is a former Japanese football player who became…
Yoshikazu Nonomura (野々村 芳和, Nonomura Yoshikazu; born May 8, 1972) is a former Japanese football player who became chairman of J. League on 31 January 2022.
Naoko Takahashi (高橋 尚子, Takahashi Naoko; born May 6, 1972) is a Japanese retired long-distance runner and Olympic gold…
Naoko Takahashi (高橋 尚子, Takahashi Naoko; born May 6, 1972) is a Japanese retired long-distance runner and Olympic gold medal-winning marathoner. She won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and at the 2001 Berlin Marathon she became the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Teruo Iwamoto (岩本 輝雄, Iwamoto Teruo; born May 2, 1972) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan…
Teruo Iwamoto (岩本 輝雄, Iwamoto Teruo; born May 2, 1972) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Masanori Inoue (井上 将憲, Inoue Masanori; born 1 May 1972) is a Japanese hurdler and bobsledder. He competed at the 1998…
Masanori Inoue (井上 将憲, Inoue Masanori; born 1 May 1972) is a Japanese hurdler and bobsledder. He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Takayuki Ito (伊藤 孝行, Takayuki Ito; born May 1, 1972) is a Japanese computer scientist who specialized in the fields of…
Takayuki Ito (伊藤 孝行, Takayuki Ito; born May 1, 1972) is a Japanese computer scientist who specialized in the fields of artificial intelligence and multi-agent systems. He worked as assistant professor in the computer science department of Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology from 2001 until 2003, served as associate professor in the computer science department of Nagoya Institute of Technology (2006–2014), worked as full professor in the computer science department of Nagoya Institute of Technology (2014–2020). He also served as chair of the department (2016–2018)and also director the NITech Artificial Intelligence Research Center at Nagoya Institute of Technology. From October 2020, he is working as full Professor of Computer Science at Department of Social Informatics, Kyoto University; he is also working as Chief Technology Officer at AgreeBit Inc., Japan.
Kazurou Inoue (井上 和郎, Inoue Kazurō; born May 1, 1972) is a Japanese manga artist from Sano, Tochigi Prefecture. He…
Kazurou Inoue (井上 和郎, Inoue Kazurō; born May 1, 1972) is a Japanese manga artist from Sano, Tochigi Prefecture. He received recognition for his manga Dream Security Mao (Dream Security マオ) at the 40th Rookie Comic Awards. After training under Kazuhiro Fujita, he published Heat Wave in Shōnen Sunday Super in 2001. He is most known for Midori Days, which was adapted into a 13-episode anime series by Pierrot.
Takeo Kawamura (川村 丈夫, Kawamura Takeo; born April 30, 1972) is a professional baseball player from Yamato, Kanagawa…
Takeo Kawamura (川村 丈夫, Kawamura Takeo; born April 30, 1972) is a professional baseball player from Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan. He is a retired pitcher for the Yokohama BayStars. Kawamura won 17 games in 1999 as a starter, and became a reliever in 2004. He marked a 2.31 ERA in 2005, and returned to the starting rotation in 2007. He won a silver medal playing for the Japanese national team in the 1996 Summer Olympics before entering the Japanese professional leagues.
Hiroaki Morishima (森島 寛晃, Morishima Hiroaki; born April 30, 1972) is a Japanese former professional footballer who…
Hiroaki Morishima (森島 寛晃, Morishima Hiroaki; born April 30, 1972) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He currently is the president for Cerezo Osaka.
Masahito Kakihara (Japanese: 垣原 賢人, Kakihara Masahito; born April 29, 1972) is a Japanese former professional wrestler…
Masahito Kakihara (Japanese: 垣原 賢人, Kakihara Masahito; born April 29, 1972) is a Japanese former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFI).
Koji Kondo (Japanese: 今藤 幸治, Hepburn: Kondō Kōji; April 28, 1972 – April 17, 2003) was a Japanese football player. He…
Koji Kondo (Japanese: 今藤 幸治, Hepburn: Kondō Kōji; April 28, 1972 – April 17, 2003) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Eiji Maruo (丸尾 英司, born April 26, 1976) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher in Japan's Nippon…
Eiji Maruo (丸尾 英司, born April 26, 1976) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played with the Orix BlueWave in 1995 and from 1997 to 1998, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2000.
Osamu Suzuki (鈴木 おさむ, 鈴木 収, Suzuki Osamu; born 25 April 1972, in Chikura (now Minamibōsō), Awa District, Chiba) is a…
Osamu Suzuki (鈴木 おさむ, 鈴木 収, Suzuki Osamu; born 25 April 1972, in Chikura (now Minamibōsō), Awa District, Chiba) is a Japanese television writer, screenwriter, lyricist, radio personality, and tarento. Since 2014, he has also been involved in organizing the Hakuhō Cup, a sumo tournament for children. Suzuki's pseudonym is Sumasuma Suzuki (すますま・すずき).
Yumiko Fujii (藤井 由宮子, Fujii Yumiko) (born April 24, 1972) is a Japanese softball player who played as a pitcher. She…
Yumiko Fujii (藤井 由宮子, Fujii Yumiko) (born April 24, 1972) is a Japanese softball player who played as a pitcher. She won the silver medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Akihiro Yonekawa (米河 彰大, Yonekawa Akihiro) is a Japanese professional wrestler and singer, better known for his ring…
Akihiro Yonekawa (米河 彰大, Yonekawa Akihiro) is a Japanese professional wrestler and singer, better known for his ring name Kesen Numajiro (気仙 沼二郎, Kesen Numajirō). He has had a long career in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where he currently wrestles, being a three-time Tohoku Tag Team champion and a one-time Tohoku Junior Heavyweight champion.
Nobuyuki Ebisu (戎 信行, Ebisu Nobuyuki) is a former baseball player in Japan. He primarily played for the Orix BlueWave…
Nobuyuki Ebisu (戎 信行, Ebisu Nobuyuki) is a former baseball player in Japan. He primarily played for the Orix BlueWave in the Pacific League He attended Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners.
Izam (stylized as IZAM, born 23 April 1972, in Fuchū, Tokyo) is a Japanese musician, tarento, and actor. His real name…
Izam (stylized as IZAM, born 23 April 1972, in Fuchū, Tokyo) is a Japanese musician, tarento, and actor. His real name is Yoshikazu Hine (日根 良和, Hine Yoshikazu). He is best known as the singer of the visual kei rock band Shazna. He graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Matsugatani High School. He is represented with Sun Music Production. He is the president of the Benibara Usagi-dan.
Kenichi Yoshizumi (吉住 健一, Yoshizumi Ken'ichi; born 22 April 1972) is a Japanese politician serving as the current mayor…
Kenichi Yoshizumi (吉住 健一, Yoshizumi Ken'ichi; born 22 April 1972) is a Japanese politician serving as the current mayor of Shinjuku, one of the special wards of Tokyo, since 2014.
Takashi Akai (赤 井貴, Akai Takashi; born April 20, 1972, in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan), better known as Dayu Koume (コウメ 太夫…
Takashi Akai (赤 井貴, Akai Takashi; born April 20, 1972, in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan), better known as Dayu Koume (コウメ 太夫, Kōme Dayū), is a Japanese comedian represented by SMA Neet Project. He dropped out from Asahikawa University.
Natsuki Ozawa (Japanese: 小沢 なつき, Hepburn: Ozawa Natsuki) (born April 19, 1972) is a Japanese singer, actress and AV…
Natsuki Ozawa (Japanese: 小沢 なつき, Hepburn: Ozawa Natsuki) (born April 19, 1972) is a Japanese singer, actress and AV actress who has appeared in mainstream films and adult videos.
Yuichi Nishimura (西村 雄一, Nishimura Yūichi; born 17 April 1972) is a Japanese football referee. He has refereed in the…
Yuichi Nishimura (西村 雄一, Nishimura Yūichi; born 17 April 1972) is a Japanese football referee. He has refereed in the Japanese J. League Division 1 since 1999 and has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2004. He refereed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he was appointed to several prestigious matches, including as fourth official on the final. He also refereed the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croatia, and the second leg of the 2014 AFC Champions League final between Al Hilal and Western Sydney Wanderers.
Kuniko Obinata (大日方 邦子, Obinata Kuniko) (born April 16, 1972) is a Paralympic alpine skier from Japan. She has competed…
Kuniko Obinata (大日方 邦子, Obinata Kuniko) (born April 16, 1972) is a Paralympic alpine skier from Japan. She has competed at every Winter Paralympic Games since 1994, winning a total of two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals up to 2006. At the 2010 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals in the women's sitting class of slalom and giant slalom.
Toshitaka Ōoka (Japanese: 大岡敏孝) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the…
Toshitaka Ōoka (Japanese: 大岡敏孝) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the House of Representatives from Shiga Prefecture. First elected in 2014, he was most recently elected in the 2021 election defeating Alex Saito who ran as the candidate of Democratic Party for the People. In 2024, he lost a rematch against Saito who this time represented Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Fumiko Okuno (Japanese: 奥野史子 Okuno Fumiko; born April 14, 1972, in Kyoto) is a former competitor in synchronised…
Fumiko Okuno (Japanese: 奥野史子 Okuno Fumiko; born April 14, 1972, in Kyoto) is a former competitor in synchronised swimming from Japan. She competed in both the women's solo and women's duet events at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and won two bronze medals.