Takeshi Aono (青野 毅, born January 12, 1983, in Bonotsu, Kagoshima) is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder…Takeshi Aono (青野 毅, born January 12, 1983, in Bonotsu, Kagoshima) is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played in 2002, and from 2006 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2012.
Mai Sekiguchi (関口まい, Sekiguchi Mai; born January 11, 1983) is a Japanese actress. She played Kaori Minami in Battle…Mai Sekiguchi (関口まい, Sekiguchi Mai; born January 11, 1983) is a Japanese actress. She played Kaori Minami in Battle Royale. She is represented with Ohta Production.
Mami Ishino (石野 真美, Ishino Mami; born 10 January 1983) is a Japanese track and field athlete who specialises in the 100…Mami Ishino (石野 真美, Ishino Mami; born 10 January 1983) is a Japanese track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles. Her personal best for the event is 13.08 seconds. Her greatest achievement was a gold medal at the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships. She also represented her country at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, held in Osaka that year. She was the silver medalist at the 2009 East Asian Games. Ishino won national titles in the hurdles in 2006 and 2007.
Ryoff Karma (呂布カルマ; born January 7, 1983) is a Japanese rapper known for performing in MC battles and televised…Ryoff Karma (呂布カルマ; born January 7, 1983) is a Japanese rapper known for performing in MC battles and televised competitions. He has also worked as a cultural critic, actor, and voice actor.
Shota Goto (後藤翔太, Goto Shota; born 7 January 1983) is a Japanese politician and former rugby union player serving as a…Shota Goto (後藤翔太, Goto Shota; born 7 January 1983) is a Japanese politician and former rugby union player serving as a member of the House of Councillors since 2025. From 2005 to 2006, he played for the Japan national rugby union team.
Yoshihiro Suzuki (鈴木 義広, born January 5, 1983, in Mannō, Kagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese retired professional baseball…Yoshihiro Suzuki (鈴木 義広, born January 5, 1983, in Mannō, Kagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese retired professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the entirety of his career. Since 2015, he has been employed as the Dragons scorer.
Takaharu Nakajima (中嶋 敬春, Nakajima Takaharu; born 2 January 1983) is a Japanese speed skater. He competed at the 2002…Takaharu Nakajima (中嶋 敬春, Nakajima Takaharu; born 2 January 1983) is a Japanese speed skater. He competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Emi Kobayashi (小林 恵美, Kobayashi Emi; born January 1, 1983) is a former Japanese gravure idol. She is from Tokyo, and…Emi Kobayashi (小林 恵美, Kobayashi Emi; born January 1, 1983) is a former Japanese gravure idol. She is from Tokyo, and belongs to the show-business production Suns Entertainment. She belonged to Yellow Cab before 2004. She portrayed the hostess who became a nun named Saori in Lion-Maru G.
Ryohei Machiya is a Japanese novelist. He won the Akutagawa Prize for his boxing novel Ichi Raundo Ippun Sanju-yon Byo…Ryohei Machiya is a Japanese novelist. He won the Akutagawa Prize for his boxing novel Ichi Raundo Ippun Sanju-yon Byo (1 round 1 minute 34 seconds).
Aki Inomata (あき いのまた Inomata Aki, born 1983) is a Japanese multidisciplinary contemporary artist and designer based in…Aki Inomata (あき いのまた Inomata Aki, born 1983) is a Japanese multidisciplinary contemporary artist and designer based in Tokyo. Her work addresses identity and displacement, and questions societal boundaries between humans versus animals and the natural versus man-made worlds. Much of her artistic practice aims at creating collaborative interspecies relationships through such contemporary modeling technologies as 3-D scanning and printing techniques. Inomata's cross-disciplinary Bio Art projects complicate the notion of production while proposing a new awareness of human and nonhuman ecologies, as she states: "The concept of my works is to get people to perceive the modes of life of various living creatures by experience a kind of empathy toward them."
Mitsunori Kimura (木村充伯, Kimura Mitsunori; born 1983 in Shizuoka Precfecture, Japan) is a Japanese artist. He lives and…Mitsunori Kimura (木村充伯, Kimura Mitsunori; born 1983 in Shizuoka Precfecture, Japan) is a Japanese artist. He lives and works in Shizuoka, though his artwork has been exhibited Seoul, Florence, Valencia, Luxembourg. Kimura is represented in Tokyo and Nagoya by Kenji Taki Gallery.
Kazumi Sakai (酒井 かづみ, Sakai Kazumi) is a paralympic athlete from Japan competing mainly in category F20 high jump…Kazumi Sakai (酒井 かづみ, Sakai Kazumi) is a paralympic athlete from Japan competing mainly in category F20 high jump events. Kazumi competed in the F20 high jump at the 2000 Summer Paralympics winning the silver medal.
Akihiro Kitada (北田 暁大, Kitada Akihiro; born December 28, 1971) is a Japanese sociologist and a professor at the…Akihiro Kitada (北田 暁大, Kitada Akihiro; born December 28, 1971) is a Japanese sociologist and a professor at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, University of Tokyo. He received his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 2004. Before he took his current position in 2003, he was teaching at the University of Tsukuba. He was a visiting professor at Leipzig University in 2011. His research topics include theoretical sociology, cultural sociology and history of media. He has acquired a reputation for his analysis of advertising, early cinema, magazines, TV, internet and other forms of media in modern and contemporary Japan as well as for his theoretical writings on culture and media. He is known among the reading public in Japan for co-editing the journal Shiso chizu (思想地図) with the cultural critic Hiroki Azuma during its first years.
Junichi Inoue (井上純一, Inoue Junichi; born 26 December 1971) is a Japanese speed skater who competed in the 1992 and 1994…Junichi Inoue (井上純一, Inoue Junichi; born 26 December 1971) is a Japanese speed skater who competed in the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. He was born in Arakawa, Saitama. In 1992 he won the bronze medal in the 500 metres event. Two years later he finished sixth in the 500 metres competition and eighth in the 1000 metres contest.
Yumi Kokamo (小鴨 由水, Kokamo Yumi) (born December 26, 1971, in Akashi, Hyogo) is a retired female long-distance runner…Yumi Kokamo (小鴨 由水, Kokamo Yumi) (born December 26, 1971, in Akashi, Hyogo) is a retired female long-distance runner from Japan. She won the 1992 edition of the Osaka Ladies Marathon. She clocked a winning time of 2:26:26 on January 26, 1992. Later that year Kokamo competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing in 29th place in the women's marathon race.
Yoji Shinkawa (Japanese: 新川洋司, Hepburn: Shinkawa Yōji; born 25 December 1971) is a Japanese artist. He is best known…Yoji Shinkawa (Japanese: 新川洋司, Hepburn: Shinkawa Yōji; born 25 December 1971) is a Japanese artist. He is best known for collaborating extensively with video game director Hideo Kojima as the lead character and mechanical designer, and art director, for most of his games, including the entirety of the Metal Gear Solid franchise and the Death Stranding duology.
Atsuko Hiyajo (Japanese: 比屋定 篤子, Hepburn: Hiyajō Atsuko; born 24 December 1971) is a Japanese singer and radio…Atsuko Hiyajo (Japanese: 比屋定 篤子, Hepburn: Hiyajō Atsuko; born 24 December 1971) is a Japanese singer and radio personality. Born in Naha, she performed for a band while at Musashino Art University, as well as her own concerts in Tokyo. Making her major label debut in 1997, she released several albums and singles with Epic Records Japan and Sony Music Entertainment Japan in the 1990s and 2000s. Following her return to Okinawa, she began working as an independent musician, collaborating with Ryusenkei and other musicians, and served as the Wednesday host for RBC iRadio's At BBS . One of her songs, "Maware Maware", received renewed popularity from the city pop boom of the 2010s.
Yoshitsugu Kobayashi (小林 快次, Kobayashi Yoshitsugu, born 1971) is a Japanese vertebrate paleontologist. He is a…Yoshitsugu Kobayashi (小林 快次, Kobayashi Yoshitsugu, born 1971) is a Japanese vertebrate paleontologist. He is a professor and the assistant director in Hokkaido University Museum. His major achievements include the description and naming of several dinosaurs from Japan, for example, Kamuysaurus, Yamatosaurus and Paralitherizinosaurus. He is also a research affiliate of Perot Museum of Nature and Science, a member of Jurassic Foundation, a councilor of Palaeontological Society of Japan.
Masayoshi Yamazaki (山崎 まさよし, Yamazaki Masayoshi; born 山崎 将義 Yamazaki Masayoshi on December 23, 1971, in Kusatsu Shiga)…Masayoshi Yamazaki (山崎 まさよし, Yamazaki Masayoshi; born 山崎 将義 Yamazaki Masayoshi on December 23, 1971, in Kusatsu Shiga) is a Japanese singer-songwriter who plays guitar-driven blues, rock, and pop music, though he has also recorded piano ballads. Though he primarily plays the guitar, he has played the drums, piano, percussion, saxophone, and glockenspiel on some albums. He released his second album in 1997, which contained his breakout and most famous single "One More Time, One More Chance." This song was used in Makoto Shinkai's anime film 5 Centimeters per Second. In November of 2002, he performed the Beatles song "All My Loving" for Sir Paul McCartney while the latter was backstage after a show in Japan on the Driving World Tour.
Asuka Kurosawa (黒沢あすか, Kurosawa Asuka; born 22 December 1971) is a Japanese actress and gravure model. She has appeared…Asuka Kurosawa (黒沢あすか, Kurosawa Asuka; born 22 December 1971) is a Japanese actress and gravure model. She has appeared in more than 20 films since 1988.
Reiko Kataoka (片岡 礼子, Kataoka Reiko; born December 20, 1971) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress…Reiko Kataoka (片岡 礼子, Kataoka Reiko; born December 20, 1971) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 45th Blue Ribbon Awards for Hush!.
Narihiro Inamura (稲村 成浩, Inamura Narihiro; born 18 December 1971) is a Japanese cyclist. He competed in two events at…Narihiro Inamura (稲村 成浩, Inamura Narihiro; born 18 December 1971) is a Japanese cyclist. He competed in two events at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Takahiro Shimotaira (下平 隆宏, Shimotaira Takahiro; born December 18, 1971) is a Japanese professional football manager…Takahiro Shimotaira (下平 隆宏, Shimotaira Takahiro; born December 18, 1971) is a Japanese professional football manager and former player who is the manager of J3 League club Kōchi United SC.
Shouji Saeki (Japanese: 佐伯 昭志, Hepburn: Saeki Shōji; born December 17, 1971) is a Japanese director, storyboard artist…Shouji Saeki (Japanese: 佐伯 昭志, Hepburn: Saeki Shōji; born December 17, 1971) is a Japanese director, storyboard artist, writer, and animator known for directing and writing several series for studios Gainax and Shaft.
Ayumi Shigemori (茂森 あゆみ, Shigemori Ayumi; born in Kumamoto) is a Japanese actress and pop star. She sang on the major…Ayumi Shigemori (茂森 あゆみ, Shigemori Ayumi; born in Kumamoto) is a Japanese actress and pop star. She sang on the major J-pop hit "Dango 3 Kyodai".
Hajime Kazumi (数見 肇, Kazumi Hajime) (born December 14, 1971) is a Japanese karateka. Born in Kanagawa prefecture…Hajime Kazumi (数見 肇, Kazumi Hajime) (born December 14, 1971) is a Japanese karateka. Born in Kanagawa prefecture, Kazumi is a karate fighter who played an active part in the full-contact karate tournaments hosted by Kyokushinkaikan from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. He started Kyokushin karate at age of fifteen and at age twenty Kazumi defeated many top fighters to reach the finals of the 24th All Japan Championship in 1992. Since then Kazumi has never finished outside of the top two places in any tournament. His effective punching and kicking combinations helped him reach the finals of six All Japan Tournaments in a row, winning four of these to break Keiji Senpai's record. He also reached the finals of two World Open Tournaments where he lost to Francisco Filho on boards and Kenji Yamaki, training partner and fellow student of Tsuyoshi Hiroshige's Jonan Branch. Kazumi is recognized as one of Kyokushin Karate's most successful full-contact fighters. He is currently director of Hajime Kazumi Dojo, where he works as an instructor of karate fighting techniques. Kazumi currently holds 6th dan black belt.
Itsuki Asai (浅井 樹, Asai Itsuki; born December 14, 1971) is a former baseball player from Japan. Asai played in the…Itsuki Asai (浅井 樹, Asai Itsuki; born December 14, 1971) is a former baseball player from Japan. Asai played in the Nippon baseball league. He initially played in the Pioneer League, before moving to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Central League. At times, he played as a pinch hitter.
Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and…Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and nonfiction writer from Tokyo, Japan. He is best known for being the designer of Hong Kong 97 on the Super Famicom, which is considered to be one of the worst video games ever made. Currently, he writes underground travel journals and computer books in Asia, and resides in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Yoshihisa Hirano (平野 義久, Hirano Yoshihisa; born December 7, 1971) is a Japanese composer and arranger. He is best known…Yoshihisa Hirano (平野 義久, Hirano Yoshihisa; born December 7, 1971) is a Japanese composer and arranger. He is best known for composing the scores for anime series, such as Death Note, Hunter × Hunter (2011), Hajime no Ippo and Edens Zero. He has also made the orchestration for video games, mostly in the Final Fantasy franchise. His musical style combines impressionism and atonal music. He employs techniques such as polyrhythm, tone clusters, polytonality, brass glissandi and polymodal chromaticism to create unique musical textures.
Eiko Naitō (内藤 栄子; born December 6, 1971), known professionally as Eiki Eiki (影木 栄貴), is a Japanese manga artist.…Eiko Naitō (内藤 栄子; born December 6, 1971), known professionally as Eiki Eiki (影木 栄貴), is a Japanese manga artist. Active since 1998, most of her manga are written under the yaoi and yuri genre.
Rika Hiraki (Japanese: 平木 理化, born 6 December 1971) is a former professional Japanese tennis player. She won the…Rika Hiraki (Japanese: 平木 理化, born 6 December 1971) is a former professional Japanese tennis player. She won the mixed-doubles title at the 1997 French Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi).
Hidehiko Tanizawa (born 5 December 1971) is a Japanese former professional tennis player. Tanizawa, a left-handed…Hidehiko Tanizawa (born 5 December 1971) is a Japanese former professional tennis player. Tanizawa, a left-handed player, won a national title as a 17-year old in 1989, when he defeated Tsuyoshi Fukui in the final of the All Japan Tennis Championships. In 1990 he featured in a Davis Cup tie against India in Chandigarh, to become Japan's youngest ever Davis Cup debutant. He lost his two singles rubbers, to Zeeshan Ali and Srinivasan Vasudevan. This was his only Davis Cup appearance and he continued competing in professional tournaments until 1996.
Kōki Harasawa (はらさわ 晃綺, Harasawa Kōki; born December 4, 1971) is a Japanese voice actor from Gunma Prefecture, Japan.…Kōki Harasawa (はらさわ 晃綺, Harasawa Kōki; born December 4, 1971) is a Japanese voice actor from Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He is affiliated with Ken Production.
Miho Takai (高井 美穂, Takai Miho; born 30 November 1971) is a Japanese politician. She served in the House of…Miho Takai (高井 美穂, Takai Miho; born 30 November 1971) is a Japanese politician. She served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Akira Narahashi (名良橋 晃, Narahashi Akira; born November 26, 1971) is a Japanese former professional footballer who…Akira Narahashi (名良橋 晃, Narahashi Akira; born November 26, 1971) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He earned 38 caps for the Japan national team between 1994 and 2003, including three games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Muga Tsukaji (塚地 武雅, Tsukaji Muga; born 25 November 1971) is a Japanese comedian and actor. He performs boke (sometimes…Muga Tsukaji (塚地 武雅, Tsukaji Muga; born 25 November 1971) is a Japanese comedian and actor. He performs boke (sometimes tsukkomi) in the comedy duo Drunk Dragon. His partner is Taku Suzuki. He is nicknamed Tsukacchan (塚っちゃん). Tsukaji was born in Hannan, Osaka. He graduated from Hannan Municipal Tottori Junior High School, Osaka Prefectural Sano High School and Momoyama Gakuin University Department of Economics. Tsukaji co-starred with the comedy duo Hokuyō, who shared the same agency, in Haneru no Tobira.
Tetsuhiro Kuroda (黒田 哲広, Kuroda Tetsuhiro; born 23 November 1971) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently…Tetsuhiro Kuroda (黒田 哲広, Kuroda Tetsuhiro; born 23 November 1971) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's closure in 2002. He started his FMW career after being trained at the FMW Dojo in 1993 and initially worked in low-card matches as an enhancement talent during his initial years with the company until he joined Atsushi Onita's ZEN faction in 1997, earning his first title shot at the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and the FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship that December. He would remain a part of many factions throughout the late 1990s and began rising to the main event status, winning his first WEW Heavyweight Championship in 2000. By the end of the year, the underdog Kuroda established himself as the company's top villain and formed his own group Team Kuroda to feud with the company's top fan favorite Hayabusa. He headlined the company's flagship event FMW Anniversary Show in 2001. Kuroda won several championships in his career including being a four-time WEW Heavyweight Champion. He was a highly decorated tag team champion, winning the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship once, the WEW World Tag Team Championship ten times, the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship three times, the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship four times, the All Asia Tag Team Championship two times and the WMG Tag Team Championship once.
Yone Kamio (神尾 米, Kamio Yone; born November 22, 1971 in Yokohama) is a retired Japanese tennis player who competed on…Yone Kamio (神尾 米, Kamio Yone; born November 22, 1971 in Yokohama) is a retired Japanese tennis player who competed on the WTA Tour. She attained a career-best ranking of #24 in the world in October 1995. That year, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.
Toshihiro Yamaguchi (山口 敏弘, Yamaguchi Toshihiro; born November 19, 1971) is a former Japanese football player. He…Toshihiro Yamaguchi (山口 敏弘, Yamaguchi Toshihiro; born November 19, 1971) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Tomonori Totani (戸谷 友則, Totani Tomonori, born November 21, 1971) is a Japanese astronomer and professor at the…Tomonori Totani (戸谷 友則, Totani Tomonori, born November 21, 1971) is a Japanese astronomer and professor at the University of Tokyo. He is a director of the FastSound Project for the Subaru Telescope, Hawaii. He specializes in cosmology, galaxy formation, and high-energy astrophysics.
Takahiro Wada (born 16 November 1971) is a Japanese former wrestler who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics and in the…Takahiro Wada (born 16 November 1971) is a Japanese former wrestler who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics and in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Mika Kuroki (黒木 美香, Kuroki Mika; born 15 November 1971) is a Japanese former cyclist. She competed in the women's…Mika Kuroki (黒木 美香, Kuroki Mika; born 15 November 1971) is a Japanese former cyclist. She competed in the women's sprint at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Takahiro Ueno (上野高広, Ueno Takahiro; born 5 November 1971, Hokkaido) is a Japanese professional drifting driver and…Takahiro Ueno (上野高広, Ueno Takahiro; born 5 November 1971, Hokkaido) is a Japanese professional drifting driver and businessman, the former, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Car Make T&E. Ueno started his career with a Toyota Soarer JZZ30. Starting his Tuning shop Car Make T&E in October 1996. Founding the aero part branch, Vertex, he personally approves every new design. Most of the company's time when it was starting out was spent on developing the Toyota Soarer JZZ30 and this still continues today, using the D1 Grand Prix as a showcase. Ueno began competing in the D1 Grand Prix in his Toyota Soarer JZZ30 in the first round in 2001. Going on to win round 4 of the season and finishing in third overall in the championship. He has gone on to score points in every year since, though has never quite matched his original success. From 2009 to 2015, Ueno had used BMW M3 (E92). In 2016, Ueno celebrated the 20th anniversary of Car Make T&E, as he started using Toyota Soarer JZZ30 again. Currently, Ueno has been competing in the D1GP, driving Lexus RC since 2019.
Shoichi Maruyama (丸山 昭一, Maruyama Shōichi), better known by his ring name Kamikaze (sometimes stylized in capital…Shoichi Maruyama (丸山 昭一, Maruyama Shōichi), better known by his ring name Kamikaze (sometimes stylized in capital letters as KAMIKAZE), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW).