Masanobu Ogura (小倉將信, Ogura Masanobu; born May 30, 1981) is a former Japanese politician. He served as a member of the…Masanobu Ogura (小倉將信, Ogura Masanobu; born May 30, 1981) is a former Japanese politician. He served as a member of the House of Representatives belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party. He served in the Second Kishida Cabinet and previously serving in the Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle) both times as Cabinet Office Minister of State for Special Missions.
Hidehiro Mitani (三谷英弘, Mitani Hidehiro; born 28 June 1976) is a Japanese politician. He has been a member of the House…Hidehiro Mitani (三谷英弘, Mitani Hidehiro; born 28 June 1976) is a Japanese politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2017, having previously served from 2012 to 2014. Until 2014, he was a member of Your Party.
Takeshi Saiki (斉木武志, Saiki Takeshi; born 13 May 1974) is a Japanese politician. He has been a member of the House of…Takeshi Saiki (斉木武志, Saiki Takeshi; born 13 May 1974) is a Japanese politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2024, having previously served from 2009 to 2012 and from 2017 to 2021. He previously worked as an announcer at NHK.
Narutaka Ozawa (小沢登高, Ozawa Narutaka) (born 1974) is a Japanese mathematician, known for his work in operator algebras…Narutaka Ozawa (小沢登高, Ozawa Narutaka) (born 1974) is a Japanese mathematician, known for his work in operator algebras and discrete groups. He has been a professor at Kyoto University since 2013. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1997 from the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. in mathematics in 2000 from the same institution. One year later he received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Texas A&M University. He was selected for one of the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships in 2005 and was an invited speaker at the 2006 ICM in Madrid where he gave a talk on "Amenable actions and Applications". He has won numerous prizes including the Mathematical Society of Japan (MSJ) Spring Prize and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Prize. Before becoming a full professor at Kyoto University in 2013, he was an associate professor at the University of Tokyo and at University of California, Los Angeles.
Takuo Komori (小森 卓郎, Komori Takuo; born 21 May 1970) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who…Takuo Komori (小森 卓郎, Komori Takuo; born 21 May 1970) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the House of Representatives.
Satoshi Furukawa (古川 聡, Furukawa Satoshi; born April 4, 1964) is a Japanese surgeon and retired JAXA astronaut.…Satoshi Furukawa (古川 聡, Furukawa Satoshi; born April 4, 1964) is a Japanese surgeon and retired JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/29 (2011) and Expedition 69/70 (2023-2024).
Keiichiro Asao (浅尾 慶一郎, Asao Keiichirō; born 11 February 1964) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of…Keiichiro Asao (浅尾 慶一郎, Asao Keiichirō; born 11 February 1964) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). He has been a member of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), then of Your Party, then an independent. In September 2017, he applied to join the LDP. A native of Tokyo and graduate of the law faculty of the University of Tokyo, he joined Industrial Bank of Japan in 1987, receiving MBA in 1992 from Stanford University while working at the bank. Leaving the bank in 1995, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1998 to represent Kanagawa Prefecture. He was re-elected in 2004, and was appointed the Shadow Foreign Minister by the DPJ leader Seiji Maehara. He was later expelled from the DPJ after announcing he would run for a district seat in Kanagawa during the 2009 General election, joining Your Party as a founding member one month later. Taking helm of the party in April 2014 after a financial scandal touching its founder, he voted in favor of disbanding it in November 2014 over dissension against plans to support the LDP. In October 2016 however, Asao began voting with the LDP lower house fraction, and then joined the LDP in September 2017 after the announcement of anticipated elections by prime minister Abe.
Takeo Akiba (秋葉 剛男, Akiba Takeo, born 19 December 1958) is a Japanese diplomat who served as National Security Advisor…Takeo Akiba (秋葉 剛男, Akiba Takeo, born 19 December 1958) is a Japanese diplomat who served as National Security Advisor to the Cabinet from 2021 to 2025. He had a long career as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving as administrative vice minister from 2018 to 2021.
Akira Ojima (born September 1, 1958) is a Japanese jurist who has served as an associate Justice of the Supreme Court…Akira Ojima (born September 1, 1958) is a Japanese jurist who has served as an associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan since 2022.
Kazushi Hosaka (保坂 和志, Hosaka Kazushi; born 15 October 1956) is a Japanese writer. He has won the Noma Literary New…Kazushi Hosaka (保坂 和志, Hosaka Kazushi; born 15 October 1956) is a Japanese writer. He has won the Noma Literary New Face Prize, the Akutagawa Prize, and the Tanizaki Prize.
Kengo Kuma (隈 研吾, Kuma Kengo; born August 8, 1954) is a Japanese architect and emeritus professor in the Department of…Kengo Kuma (隈 研吾, Kuma Kengo; born August 8, 1954) is a Japanese architect and emeritus professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma designed the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, built for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Kunio Mikuriya (御厨 邦雄, Mikuriya Kunio) was the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) from 2009 to…Kunio Mikuriya (御厨 邦雄, Mikuriya Kunio) was the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) from 2009 to 2023.
Yukiya Amano (Japanese: 天野 之弥, Hepburn: Amano Yukiya; 9 May 1947 – 18 July 2019) was a Japanese diplomat, who served as…Yukiya Amano (Japanese: 天野 之弥, Hepburn: Amano Yukiya; 9 May 1947 – 18 July 2019) was a Japanese diplomat, who served as the Director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1 December 2009 until his death on 18 July 2019. Previously, Amano served as an international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.
Nobutaka Hirokawa (廣川 信隆, Hirokawa Nobutaka) (born March 25, 1946) is a Japanese neuroscientist and cell biologist…Nobutaka Hirokawa (廣川 信隆, Hirokawa Nobutaka) (born March 25, 1946) is a Japanese neuroscientist and cell biologist famous for research on the kinesin superfamily of motor proteins. He has been President and Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Human Frontier Science Program since 2012.
Masakatsu G. Fujie (藤江正克, Fujie Masakatsu; born 1945) is a Japanese scientist who has played a major role in…Masakatsu G. Fujie (藤江正克, Fujie Masakatsu; born 1945) is a Japanese scientist who has played a major role in cutting-edge research in biomedical engineering. He has been responsible for many advances in the field of robotics. A longtime professor at Waseda University, he has led teams that have developed an intelligent mobile robot and a remote control manipulator, among many other devices. He made a significant contribution to the development of a medical treatment support system that helps in the recovery of human functions. He has held leadership positions in a number of professional organizations and has helped establish UNESCO's World Academy of Biomedical Technology (WABT). He is currently doing "research that fuses cutting-edge science and engineering and sports sciences and is focused on the impending arrival of the super-aged society."
Masataka Shimizu (清水 政孝, Shimizu Masataka; born June 23, 1944) is a director of Fuji Oil Company, and was the president…Masataka Shimizu (清水 政孝, Shimizu Masataka; born June 23, 1944) is a director of Fuji Oil Company, and was the president and chief executive officer of Japanese electric utility Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) from 2008 to 2011. He was also a vice-chairman of Keidanren, the employers' federation of the companies of Japan, until he stepped down after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On July 25, 2012, he became an outside director of Fuji Oil.
Ken'ichi Mishima (三島 憲一, Mishima Ken'ichi; born November 11, 1942), is a Japanese social philosopher and university…Ken'ichi Mishima (三島 憲一, Mishima Ken'ichi; born November 11, 1942), is a Japanese social philosopher and university professor.
Kiyoharu Ishiwata (石渡 清元, Ishiwata Kiyoharu; 9 December 1940 – January 20, 2014) was a Japanese politician. He was a…Kiyoharu Ishiwata (石渡 清元, Ishiwata Kiyoharu; 9 December 1940 – January 20, 2014) was a Japanese politician. He was a member of the House of Councillors from 1989 to 2001. Ishiwata died of heart failure at the age of 73.
Morihisa Aoki (Japanese: 青木 盛久, romanized: Aoki Morihisa, November 23, 1938 – November 9, 2024) was a Japanese diplomat…Morihisa Aoki (Japanese: 青木 盛久, romanized: Aoki Morihisa, November 23, 1938 – November 9, 2024) was a Japanese diplomat and president of the Aoki Shūzō Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Aoki was the ambassador to Peru and homeowner of the diplomatic residence that served as the location of the Japanese embassy hostage crisis.
Paul Kazuhiro Mori was a Japanese Roman Catholic prelate. He was the auxiliary bishop of Tokyo from 1985 to 2000. He…Paul Kazuhiro Mori was a Japanese Roman Catholic prelate. He was the auxiliary bishop of Tokyo from 1985 to 2000. He was born in Yokohama on 10 December 1938 and was ordained in 1967. He retired in 2000 and died on 2 September 2023 at the age of 84.
Hideaki Kase (加瀬 英明, Kase Hideaki; 22 December 1936 – 15 November 2022) was a Japanese diplomatic critic known for…Hideaki Kase (加瀬 英明, Kase Hideaki; 22 December 1936 – 15 November 2022) was a Japanese diplomatic critic known for promoting historical negationism. His father, Toshikazu Kase, was a diplomat under Shigenori Tōgō who negotiated an end to the Pacific war. Yoko Ono is his cousin.
Haruo Hosoya (Japanese: 細矢 治夫, Hepburn: Hosoya Haruo; born 1936) is a Japanese chemist and emeritus professor of…Haruo Hosoya (Japanese: 細矢 治夫, Hepburn: Hosoya Haruo; born 1936) is a Japanese chemist and emeritus professor of Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan. He is the namesake of the Hosoya index used in discrete mathematics and computational chemistry.
Akira Nakamura (中村 粲, Nakamura Akira; 24 April 1934 – 23 June 2010) was a Japanese academic of English literature and…Akira Nakamura (中村 粲, Nakamura Akira; 24 April 1934 – 23 June 2010) was a Japanese academic of English literature and self-trained historian specialising in Japan's wartime role in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Tokyo, Nakamura studied English literature and graduated from University of Tokyo in March 1959. He worked as a senior high school teacher of English until he clashed with the school principal. From April 1964 onwards he lectured at the newly founded Dokkyo University on a full-time basis until his retirement in March 2005 to become an emeritus professor. A representative of Showa History Research Institute, he frequently joined controversies surrounding Japan's wartime past, particularly the denialism or minimization of the Nanking Massacre of 1937–38. He completely rejected the Chinese government's claim of 300,000 death toll as mere propaganda, giving his own estimate of around 10,000 deaths. He was also a supporter of the film The Truth About Nanjing, containing apologism for Japan's wartime past, and which denied the existence of the Nanking Massacre. He detested what he viewed as "left leaning" mass media, especially The Asahi Shimbun newspaper and NHK public broadcasting organisation.
Giuseppe Pittau (20 October 1928 – 26 December 2014) was a Roman Catholic titular archbishop. Born in Villacidro…Giuseppe Pittau (20 October 1928 – 26 December 2014) was a Roman Catholic titular archbishop. Born in Villacidro, Italy, Pittau was ordained to the priesthood for the Society of Jesus on 18 March 1959. He earned a PhD from Harvard University in 1963. On 28 July 1998 Pope John Paul II appointed Pittau titular archbishop of Castro di Sardegna and secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education and Pittau was ordained on 26 September 1998. He was also rector of Sophia University in Tokyo, and of the Gregorian University in Rome. On 25 November 2003, Pittau retired. Pittau died on Friday 26 December 2014. Before his service in the Congregation for Catholic Education, he had assisted the Jesuit that Pope John Paul II had chosen in the early 1980s, Cardinal Paolo Dezza, S.J., to govern the order following the incapacitation due to a stroke of their then-superior general, Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Pope Francis made reference to the services he had rendered in Tokyo and at the Gregorian University, to the Roman Curia, and to the Society of Jesus in the telegram of condolence he sent to the Jesuit superior general, Father Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., upon learning of his death.