Hiroto Shinozuka (Japanese: ็ฏ ๅกๅคง็ป; born 23 December 2003) is a Japanese table tennis player. He competed at the 2024โฆHiroto Shinozuka (Japanese: ็ฏ ๅกๅคง็ป; born 23 December 2003) is a Japanese table tennis player. He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Kazuki Oki (ๅคงๆจ ไธ่ผ, Ohki Kazuki) (born 1 December 2002) is a Japanese racing driver who is set to compete for GAINER inโฆKazuki Oki (ๅคงๆจ ไธ่ผ, Ohki Kazuki) (born 1 December 2002) is a Japanese racing driver who is set to compete for GAINER in Super GT. Oki previously raced in Super Taikyu ST-X with Team Impul.
Tatsurล Hamada (ๆฟฑ็ฐ ้้, Hamada Tatsurล; born August 4, 1994 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseballโฆTatsurล Hamada (ๆฟฑ็ฐ ้้, Hamada Tatsurล; born August 4, 1994 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball pitcher. He played for the Chunichi Dragons for 9-years. During his time in high school, Hamada was rated alongside Shintaro Fujinami (now of the Hanshin Tigers) and Shohei Ohtani (now of the Los Angeles Angels) as one of the top 3 pitchers in his age bracket.
Yunoka Furukawa (ๅคๅทๆนฏใฎ้ฆ, Furukawa Yunoka; born 24 May 1994) is a Japanese professional boxer who held the WBA femaleโฆYunoka Furukawa (ๅคๅทๆนฏใฎ้ฆ, Furukawa Yunoka; born 24 May 1994) is a Japanese professional boxer who held the WBA female atomweight title from 2016 to 2017.
Yuya Taniguchi (่ฐทๅฃ ้ไน, Taniguchi Yลซya; born 1 June 1992) is a Japanese professional baseball player. He debuted in 2012โฆYuya Taniguchi (่ฐทๅฃ ้ไน, Taniguchi Yลซya; born 1 June 1992) is a Japanese professional baseball player. He debuted in 2012 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He had 3 runs in 2013.
Naomichi Donoue (ๅ ไธ ็ดๅซ, born September 23, 1988, in Japan) is a coach and former Japanese professional baseball playerโฆNaomichi Donoue (ๅ ไธ ็ดๅซ, born September 23, 1988, in Japan) is a coach and former Japanese professional baseball player for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He was a utility infielder and has played at various positions including short stop, third base and second base.
Ken Togame (ๅไบ ๅฃ, Togame Ken; born November 7, 1987) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher forโฆKen Togame (ๅไบ ๅฃ, Togame Ken; born November 7, 1987) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Takehiro Donoue (ๅ ไธ ๅ่ฃ, born May 27, 1985, in Kasugai, Aichi) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder inโฆTakehiro Donoue (ๅ ไธ ๅ่ฃ, born May 27, 1985, in Kasugai, Aichi) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played with the Chunichi Dragons from 2005 to 2014 and with the Yomiuri Giants in 2015 and 2016. His younger brother Naomichi also played for the Chunichi Dragons.
Akira Kito (born 10 September 1974) is a Japanese table tennis player. He competed in the men's doubles event at theโฆAkira Kito (born 10 September 1974) is a Japanese table tennis player. He competed in the men's doubles event at the 2004 Summer Olympics, with Toshio Tasaki as his partner. They were eliminated in Round 3.
Buyลซzan Takeyoshi (born July 29, 1974 as Takeyoshi Tominaga in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan) is a former sumo wrestler. HisโฆBuyลซzan Takeyoshi (born July 29, 1974 as Takeyoshi Tominaga in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan) is a former sumo wrestler. His highest rank was maegashira 1. He is now a sumo coach.
Ichiro Suzuki ( EE-chirr-oh; Japanese: ้ดๆจ ไธๆ, romanized: Suzuki Ichirล, IPA: [sษฏzษฏki itษiษพoห]; born October 22, 1973)โฆIchiro Suzuki ( EE-chirr-oh; Japanese: ้ดๆจ ไธๆ, romanized: Suzuki Ichirล, IPA: [sษฏzษฏki itษiษพoห]; born October 22, 1973), also known mononymously as Ichiro (ใคใใญใผ, Ichirล), is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the next 12 years with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Suzuki then played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees and three with the Miami Marlins before returning to the Mariners for his final two seasons. He won two World Baseball Classic titles with the Japan national team. One of the greatest contact hitters, leadoff hitters, and defensive outfielders in baseball history, he is also considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Suzuki received 17 consecutive selections as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles, and was named his league's most valuable player (MVP) four times. In NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Suzuki became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club. He led the American League (AL) in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP. Suzuki was the first MLB player to enter the Meikyukai (The Golden Players Club). He was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Suzuki won a Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 years in the majors and had an AL-record seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27. He was also noted for the longevity of his career, continuing to produce at a high level with an on-base percentage above .300 in 2016, while approaching 43 years of age. Suzuki also set a number of batting records, including MLB's single-season record for hits with 262. He had 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player in MLB history. In 2016, Suzuki notched the 3,000th hit of his MLB career, becoming the 30th player ever to do so. In total, he finished with 4,367 hits in his professional career across Japan and the United States, the most of any player in history at the top level of baseball. Since retiring as a player in 2019, he became the Mariners' special assistant to the chairman. In 2025, Suzuki was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He became the first Japanese player and first Asian-born player to be elected into the Hall of Fame, receiving 99.7% of the vote, tied with Derek Jeter for the second-highest percentage ever. That same year, Suzuki was also elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. That August, the Mariners retired Suzuki's number 51.
Masakazu Kagiyama (้ตๅฑฑ ๆญฃๅ, Kagiyama Masakazu; born April 12, 1971) is a Japanese figure skating coach and formerโฆMasakazu Kagiyama (้ตๅฑฑ ๆญฃๅ, Kagiyama Masakazu; born April 12, 1971) is a Japanese figure skating coach and former competitive figure skater. He is the 1989 World Junior bronze medalist and a three-time Japanese national champion. He placed 13th at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 12th at the 1994 Winter Olympics. After retiring from competition, Kagiyama became a coach. He is the father and coach of Japanese figure skater, Yuma Kagiyama.
Asanowaka Takehiko (born 11 December 1969 as Takehiko Adachi) is a former sumo wrestler from Ichinomiya, AichiโฆAsanowaka Takehiko (born 11 December 1969 as Takehiko Adachi) is a former sumo wrestler from Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was maegashira 1. He is now a sumo coach.
Toru Suzuki (้ดๆจ ไบจ, Suzuki Tลru; born 28 May 1966) is a Japanese professional golfer, currently playing on the JapanโฆToru Suzuki (้ดๆจ ไบจ, Suzuki Tลru; born 28 May 1966) is a Japanese professional golfer, currently playing on the Japan Golf Tour.
Toshiya Adachi (ๅฎ้ ไฟไน, Adachi Toshiya; born June 12, 1965) is a retired Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball playerโฆToshiya Adachi (ๅฎ้ ไฟไน, Adachi Toshiya; born June 12, 1965) is a retired Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player with the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
Kimiyasu Kudo (ๅทฅ่ค ๅ ฌๅบท, Kudล Kimiyasu; born May 5, 1963) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, formerโฆKimiyasu Kudo (ๅทฅ่ค ๅ ฌๅบท, Kudล Kimiyasu; born May 5, 1963) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, former manager of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and current manager of the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. Known for his longevity as a player, he holds the NPB records for longest career with 29 seasons played, most consecutive seasons with at least one win with 23 and is the oldest pitcher to strike out 10 batters in a game, doing so at the age of 41 years and 11 months. In his career, he recorded 224 wins, a 3.45 ERA and 2,859 strike outs. However, despite all his accolades, he is famously known for having never won the Eiji Sawamura Award, given to Japan's top pitcher. Kudo has been a part of 16 Japan Series championships, 11 as a player and 5 as a manager. As a player, he was a member of the Seibu Lions Golden Age, winning 8 championships in 11 years, and won one championship with Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and two with Yomiuri Giants. As a manager, he led the Hawks to five Japan Series championships in six years, winning in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Kudo has won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award, given annually to the person who is deemed to have contributed the most to baseball in Japan, 4 times, once as a player in 1987 and 3 times as a manager in 2015, 2018 and 2019. He was also known as the last active player on the Lions from the "Invincible Seibu" era. Kudo was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. For the English spelling of his last name, "Kudo" and "Kudoh" are used regularly and interchangeably. Technically, both are correct as there is no straight letter-for-letter translation because it is a series of Japanese characters. His preference for the spelling on the back of his uniform was "Kudoh" as a player and "Kudo" as a manager.
Nobuhiko Hasegawa (้ท่ฐทๅท ไฟกๅฝฆ, Hasegawa Nobuhiko; March 5, 1947 โ November 7, 2005) was one of the best table tennisโฆNobuhiko Hasegawa (้ท่ฐทๅท ไฟกๅฝฆ, Hasegawa Nobuhiko; March 5, 1947 โ November 7, 2005) was one of the best table tennis players worldwide from 1966 to 1974.