Rei Sugimoto (杉本 怜, Sugimoto Rei, born November 13, 1991) is a Japanese professional rock climber, specializing in…Rei Sugimoto (杉本 怜, Sugimoto Rei, born November 13, 1991) is a Japanese professional rock climber, specializing in competition climbing.
Shūhō Satō (佐藤 秀峰, Satō Shūhō; born December 8, 1973 in Ikeda, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist. He won the…Shūhō Satō (佐藤 秀峰, Satō Shūhō; born December 8, 1973 in Ikeda, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist. He won the Japan Media Arts Festival Manga Award for his work Say Hello to Black Jack. His assistants have included his wife, manga artist Tomomi Satō, as well as Masasumi Kakizaki (one year before his debut), Takahisa Shiratori, Itsunari Fujii, Eiji Nomura, Takashi Yoshida, and Kōjirō Umezawa.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi (水口 哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya; born May 22, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and…Tetsuya Mizuguchi (水口 哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya; born May 22, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and businessman. Along with ex-Sega developers he is one of the co-founders of the video game development firm Q Entertainment. He formerly worked for Sega as a producer in their Sega AM3 'arcade machines' team, developing games like Sega Rally Championship and Sega Touring Car Championship, before moving on to become the head of Sega's United Game Artists division, the team responsible for Rez and Space Channel 5. Mizuguchi is better known for creating video games that incorporate interactive synesthesia into his game design, regardless of genre, evidenced by Rez, Lumines, Child of Eden, and Tetris Effect. He left Q Entertainment in 2013. He is currently the CEO of Enhance, Inc., a company he founded in 2014. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
Sayaka Morohoshi (諸星清佳, Morohoshi Sayaka; born 24 February 1965) is a Japanese journalist. He is known for his books…Sayaka Morohoshi (諸星清佳, Morohoshi Sayaka; born 24 February 1965) is a Japanese journalist. He is known for his books and articles on modern China.
Yūko Tanaka (田中 裕子, Tanaka Yūko; born April 29, 1955) is a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. She has won…Yūko Tanaka (田中 裕子, Tanaka Yūko; born April 29, 1955) is a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. She has won several acting awards during a long career working in both film and television, after she graduated from Meiji University.
Akio Sasajima (笹島 明夫, Sasajima Akio) (born 1952) is a jazz guitarist born in Japan and currently based in Sapporo…Akio Sasajima (笹島 明夫, Sasajima Akio) (born 1952) is a jazz guitarist born in Japan and currently based in Sapporo, Japan. His playing style incorporates bebop, hard bop, and jazz fusion. He recorded several albums as a leader for Muse and Enja in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Hiroyasu Koga (Japanese: 古賀浩靖 Koga Hiroyasu, born 15 August 1947) is a former Tatenokai member and kaishakunin…Hiroyasu Koga (Japanese: 古賀浩靖 Koga Hiroyasu, born 15 August 1947) is a former Tatenokai member and kaishakunin responsible for the decapitations of Yukio Mishima and Masakatsu Morita during their seppuku on November 25, 1970. He studied law at Kanagawa University and intended to become a lawyer. Koga, known by the nickname Furu-Koga (distinguishing him from another Tatenokai member named Masayoshi Koga who was in turn nicknamed Chibi-Koga, 小賀), was a skilled practitioner of kendo (swordsmanship). It was originally planned that Mishima would be decapitated by Masakatsu Morita, the Tatenokai's student leader; however, Morita was not trained in the sword and failed, at which point Koga stepped in to complete it. Koga then decapitated Morita as part of Morita's own seppuku. Koga and two other participating Tatenokai members (Masayoshi Koga and Masahiro Ogawa) went on trial on March 24, 1971, facing charges of bodily injury, violence, illegal possession of firearms and swords, and assisting a suicide. They were convicted and sentenced to four years' penal servitude, and were released in 1974, a few months early. As of 2005, it was believed that he was a practising Shinto priest at a shrine on Shikoku. However, an alternative belief is that he never became a Shinto priest, instead becoming the head of the Hokkaido branch of Seicho-no-Ie and was renamed Hiroyasu Arechi. It is further posited that he now resides in Kumamoto.
Yosuke Kamide (1943–2021) was a Japanese physicist. He co-founded the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society and served as…Yosuke Kamide (1943–2021) was a Japanese physicist. He co-founded the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society and served as vice-president of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy from 2003 to 2007. He was a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Japan Geoscience Union. He won a Price Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. He taught at Nagoya University.
Norio Niikawa (新川 詔夫, Niikawa Norio; 8 May 1942 – 11 April 2020) was a Japanese physician and medical geneticist who…Norio Niikawa (新川 詔夫, Niikawa Norio; 8 May 1942 – 11 April 2020) was a Japanese physician and medical geneticist who discovered an autosomal dominant disorder, Kabuki syndrome, also known as Niikawa-Kuroki syndrome.
Takahiro Yokomichi (横路 孝弘, Yokomichi Takahiro; 3 January 1941 – 2 February 2023) was a Japanese politician who belonged…Takahiro Yokomichi (横路 孝弘, Yokomichi Takahiro; 3 January 1941 – 2 February 2023) was a Japanese politician who belonged to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Sapporo, Hokkaidō, and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he was elected to the first of his five terms in the House of Representatives in 1969 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party in the electoral district of his late father Setsuo. He left the House of Representatives and was elected to be the Governor of Hokkaidō. He served for three terms from 1983 to 1995. After finishing his term as governor, he left the Socialist Party, joining the DPJ. In 1996 he was re-elected to the House of Representatives. He was the leader of the most left-leaning faction in the DPJ. After the victory of 2009 elections, then-DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama named him as the next house speaker. In the 2012 general election Yokomichi lost his single-seat electorate but retained a seat in the Diet through the proportional representation system. He managed to regain his seat in the 2014 election and held it until he retired in 2017.
Takashi Kawamura (川村隆, Kawamura Takashi; born December 19, 1939) is a director and the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power…Takashi Kawamura (川村隆, Kawamura Takashi; born December 19, 1939) is a director and the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO), a semi-nationalized electric utility company, and the former chairman and president of Hitachi, Ltd., the Japanese multinational electronics and engineering conglomerate. He had worked at Hitachi for his entire business career and retired as senior adviser to the company in June 2016. On request of the Japanese government, Kawamura has served as chairman of the electric power company since June 2017, after it was found responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
Lee Hoesung (Korean: 이회성; February 26, 1935 – January 5, 2025) was a Japanese Zainichi Korean novelist. He wrote under…Lee Hoesung (Korean: 이회성; February 26, 1935 – January 5, 2025) was a Japanese Zainichi Korean novelist. He wrote under the pen name Ri Kaisei, the Japanese reading of his Korean name. In 1972, he became the first ethnic Korean to win the Akutagawa Prize for his story "The Woman Who Fulled Clothes" (Kinuta wo utsu onna). Other representative works of his include Mihatenu Yume (見果てぬ夢; Unfulfilled Dream) and Hyakunen no tabibitotachi (百年の旅人たち; Travellers of a Hundred Years).
Genzō Wakayama (若山 弦蔵, Wakayama Genzō; September 27, 1932 — May 18, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and DJ. He…Genzō Wakayama (若山 弦蔵, Wakayama Genzō; September 27, 1932 — May 18, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and DJ. He moved to Sapporo, Hokkaido as a youth and graduated from Sapporo South High School. Due to his low bass voice, Wakayama often voiced villainous or calm characters. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist of actors Sean Connery, Gene Barry, Raymond Burr, Hugh O'Brian and John Bromfield. Also, He was the first dub-over artist of Lee Marvin in his early days. As a disc jockey, Wakayama hosted a program on TBS Radio from 1973 to 1995 that ran for 5,700 installments. Wakayama also narrated over 800 episodes of the television jidaigeki The Unfettered Shogun from 1978 to 2003. He died due to heart failure on May 18, 2021. A private service was held by his family.
Akira Ifukube (伊福部 昭, Ifukube Akira; 31 May 1914 – 8 February 2006) was a Japanese composer. He is best known for…Akira Ifukube (伊福部 昭, Ifukube Akira; 31 May 1914 – 8 February 2006) was a Japanese composer. He is best known for composing several entries in the Godzilla franchise as well as developing the titular monster's roar.
Churyo Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 忠良, Hepburn: Satō Chūryō; 1912 – 2011) was a Japanese sculptor and painter. He was born in…Churyo Sato (Japanese: 佐藤 忠良, Hepburn: Satō Chūryō; 1912 – 2011) was a Japanese sculptor and painter. He was born in Miyagi Prefecture and grew up in Hokkaido. In 1932 he moved to Tokyo to become a painter. Becoming influenced by Aristide Maillol and Charles Despiau, Sato decided to specialize in sculpture. He graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. From 1934 on, Sato spent the next seventy years making art works primarily from bronze to much acclaim. He was a dedicated artist working from 8 am until 8 pm every day and died on 30 March 2011 at the age of 98.
