Sōta Kawasaki (川﨑 颯太, Kawasaki Sōta; born 30 July 2001) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive…Sōta Kawasaki (川﨑 颯太, Kawasaki Sōta; born 30 July 2001) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for German Bundesliga club Mainz 05.
Sōichirō Kōzuki (上月 壮一郎, Kōzuki Sōichirō; born 22 December 2000) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a…Sōichirō Kōzuki (上月 壮一郎, Kōzuki Sōichirō; born 22 December 2000) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Shonan Bellmare.
Genki Egawa (江川 慶城, Egawa Genki; born 2 April 2000) is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a centre-back for…Genki Egawa (江川 慶城, Egawa Genki; born 2 April 2000) is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a centre-back for Kagoshima United.
Takuya Shimamura (島村 拓弥, Shimamura Takuya; born March 6, 1999) is a Japanese football player for Yokohama FC, on loan…Takuya Shimamura (島村 拓弥, Shimamura Takuya; born March 6, 1999) is a Japanese football player for Yokohama FC, on loan from Kashiwa Reysol.
Shogo Asada (麻田 将吾, Asada Shogo; born 6 July 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defender for…Shogo Asada (麻田 将吾, Asada Shogo; born 6 July 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defender for Kashiwa Reysol.
Masaya Okugawa (奥川 雅也, Okugawa Masaya; born 14 April 1996) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a…Masaya Okugawa (奥川 雅也, Okugawa Masaya; born 14 April 1996) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kyoto Sanga.
Kaori Kawazoe (河添香織, born 30 September 1995) is a Japanese racewalking athlete. She qualified to represent Japan at the…Kaori Kawazoe (河添香織, born 30 September 1995) is a Japanese racewalking athlete. She qualified to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo 2021, competing in women's 20 kilometres walk.
Ryosuke Tamura (田村 亮介, Tamura Ryōsuke; born 8 May 1995 in Nara) is a Japanese footballer who plays as Forward. He…Ryosuke Tamura (田村 亮介, Tamura Ryōsuke; born 8 May 1995 in Nara) is a Japanese footballer who plays as Forward. He currently play for Nara Club.
Genki Yamada (山田 元気, Yamada Genki; born December 16, 1994 in Gifu) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a…Genki Yamada (山田 元気, Yamada Genki; born December 16, 1994 in Gifu) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for J2 League club Blaublitz Akita.
Ryusei Saito (齊藤 隆成, Saitō Ryūsei; born 30 April 1994 in Tondabayashi, Osaka) is a Japanese footballer who plays for FC…Ryusei Saito (齊藤 隆成, Saitō Ryūsei; born 30 April 1994 in Tondabayashi, Osaka) is a Japanese footballer who plays for FC Osaka.
Yūya Kubo (久保 裕也, Kubo Yūya; born 24 December 1993) is a Japanese former professional footballer who plays as a forward…Yūya Kubo (久保 裕也, Kubo Yūya; born 24 December 1993) is a Japanese former professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder.
Riki Harakawa (原川 力, Harakawa Riki; born 18 August 1993) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kashiwa…Riki Harakawa (原川 力, Harakawa Riki; born 18 August 1993) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kashiwa Reysol.
Ippei Kokuryo (國領 一平, Kokuryō Ippei; born 31 July 1993 in Higashiōmi) is a Japanese footballer who plays for Nagano…Ippei Kokuryo (國領 一平, Kokuryō Ippei; born 31 July 1993 in Higashiōmi) is a Japanese footballer who plays for Nagano Parceiro.
Kazuki Mine (三根 和起, Mine Kazuki; born April 18, 1993) is a Japanese football player. He retired in February of 2018…Kazuki Mine (三根 和起, Mine Kazuki; born April 18, 1993) is a Japanese football player. He retired in February of 2018 after making over 50 career appearances. He began his career at Kyoto Sanga FC, before leaving on loan 3 times to play for Kataller Toyama, AC Nagano Parceiro, and J.League U-22 Selection, before moving permanently to Albirex Niigata Singapore F.C. where he would play 27 times. He finished his career in 2018 at the 5th club of his career, Vanraure Hachinohe.
Yuta Ito (伊藤 優汰, Itō Yūta; born September 18, 1992) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a winger for Moriyama Samurai…Yuta Ito (伊藤 優汰, Itō Yūta; born September 18, 1992) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a winger for Moriyama Samurai 2000.
Yoshiaki Komai (駒井 善成, Komai Yoshiaki; born 6 June 1992) is a Japanese footballer who plays for FC Imabari, on loan…Yoshiaki Komai (駒井 善成, Komai Yoshiaki; born 6 June 1992) is a Japanese footballer who plays for FC Imabari, on loan from Yokohama FC.
Shogo Shimohata (下畠 翔吾, Shimohata Shōgo; born May 8, 1992) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Iwate Grulla…Shogo Shimohata (下畠 翔吾, Shimohata Shōgo; born May 8, 1992) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Iwate Grulla Morioka.
Itsuki Yamada (山田 樹, Yamada Itsuki; born October 5, 1990) is a Japanese footballer. He is a defender whose primary…Itsuki Yamada (山田 樹, Yamada Itsuki; born October 5, 1990) is a Japanese footballer. He is a defender whose primary position is a left back, who can also play as a centre back.
Yuji Kaneko (金子 侑司, Kaneko Yūji; born April 24, 1990 in Kyoto Prefecture) is a former Japanese professional baseball…Yuji Kaneko (金子 侑司, Kaneko Yūji; born April 24, 1990 in Kyoto Prefecture) is a former Japanese professional baseball infielder.
Risa Takenaka (Japanese: 竹中 理沙; born January 6, 1990) is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon…Risa Takenaka (Japanese: 竹中 理沙; born January 6, 1990) is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Takenaka was part of the winning team at the 2010 International Chiba Ekiden. Takenaka won the 2015 Gold Coast Marathon, defeating Keiko Nogami and Manami Kamitanida.
Yoko Ono (大野陽子, Ōno Yōko; born 27 November 1989) is a Japanese retired judoka. She participated at the 2018 World Judo…Yoko Ono (大野陽子, Ōno Yōko; born 27 November 1989) is a Japanese retired judoka. She participated at the 2018 World Judo Championships, winning a medal. In 2021, she won the gold medal in her event at the 2021 Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar. She also won one of the bronze medals in her event at the 2022 Judo Grand Slam Paris in France.
Akane Sugazaki (菅崎 茜, Sugazaki Akane; born 7 January 1989) is a former Japanese pop singer and songwriter. She recorded…Akane Sugazaki (菅崎 茜, Sugazaki Akane; born 7 January 1989) is a former Japanese pop singer and songwriter. She recorded for the Giza Studio label.
Yu Takenouchi (竹之内 悠, Takenouchi Yū; born (1988-09-01)1 September 1988) is a Japanese cyclist who competes in both…Yu Takenouchi (竹之内 悠, Takenouchi Yū; born (1988-09-01)1 September 1988) is a Japanese cyclist who competes in both cyclo-cross and road cycling. He won the Japanese national cyclo-cross championship five times in a row from 2011 to 2015. He represented his nation in the men's elite event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder. In 2015, he was a member of the Belgian team Veranclassic–Ekoi.
Hiroe Minagawa (皆川 博恵, Minagawa Hiroe; born 19 August 1987) née Suzuki is a Japanese sport wrestler who competes in the…Hiroe Minagawa (皆川 博恵, Minagawa Hiroe; born 19 August 1987) née Suzuki is a Japanese sport wrestler who competes in the women's freestyle category. She claimed silver medal in the women's 76 kg event during the 2019 World Wrestling Championships and also qualified to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics which will be held in Japan. She was part of the Japan team which emerged as winners of the Wrestling World Cup in 2018.
Noriko Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 紀子; born 23 May 1985) is a female Japanese long-distance runner who specialised in…Noriko Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 紀子; born 23 May 1985) is a female Japanese long-distance runner who specialised in marathon running. She won the Tokyo Marathon in 2011 in a career best of 2:28:49 hours and was Asian Marathon Champion in 2011. From Kyoto, she began competing in road running competitions in Japan as a teenager. She placed eighth at the Sanyo Women's 10K in 2004, then placed third at the Kyoto City Half Marathon in her hometown in both 2005 and 2006. She attended Ritsumeikan University and ran collegiately, finishing first in her legs at the Japan Collegiate Ekiden Championships in 2006 and 2007, as well as being top on the collegiate leg at the 2007 Inter-Prefectural Women's Ekiden. Following her graduation she joined the Wacoal corporate running team. Higuchi won the Shibetsu Half Marathon in 2008 and set a personal best of 1:12:19 hours at the Marugame Half Marathon the next year, though placing twelfth at the higher profile event. She continued to steadily improve with a best of 1:10:51 hours in Marugame in 2010 followed by a win at the Sendai Half Marathon. She was chosen to represent Japan at the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and placed 29th, behind her compatriots Yoshimi Ozaki, Ryoko Kizaki and Hiroko Miyauchi, who won team bronze. She made her marathon debut at the 2011 Osaka Women's Marathon, but failed to finish the distance. She gave a better performance at the Tokyo Marathon a month later, finishing in a time of 2:28:49 hours behind Russian Tatyana Aryasova. The Russian was subsequently disqualified for doping, making Higuchi the Tokyo champion. A runner-up finish behind Kenya's Elizabeth Chemweno at the Pattaya Marathon brought Higuchi her first regional title at the race served as the Asian Marathon Championships. On her fourth marathon race of the year, she slowed to a finish in 2:48:45 for twelfth in Hokkaido. She was outclassed at the Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2012 placing 21st overall, but fared much better at the 2013 Osaka race, coming sixth. In her American debut, she led the field to win the Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon. She closed the year with eighth place at the Yokohama Women's Marathon. She won the Osaka Half Marathon in 2014 and was runner-up at the Kumanichi 30K. An outing at the 2014 Boston Marathon resulted in a time of 2:33:39 hours for 19th place. She continued competing abroad, with a tenth-place finish at the 2015 Vienna City Marathon. She did not compete over the marathon in the two following seasons, and her profile declined with top ten finishes at lower level Japanese races.
Azumi Uehara (Japanese: 上原 あずみ, Hepburn: Uehara Azumi; born April 10, 1984) is a Japanese former Porn actress and…Azumi Uehara (Japanese: 上原 あずみ, Hepburn: Uehara Azumi; born April 10, 1984) is a Japanese former Porn actress and Japanese pop singer.
Masako Chiba (千葉 真子, Chiba Masako; born 18 July 1976 in Uji, Kyoto) is a Japanese long-distance runner, who won the…Masako Chiba (千葉 真子, Chiba Masako; born 18 July 1976 in Uji, Kyoto) is a Japanese long-distance runner, who won the bronze medal in 10,000 metres at the 1997 World Championships in Athens and in the marathon race at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. Chiba was a torchbearer during the 1998 Nagano Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Kenji Takao (Japanese: 高尾 憲司; born 23 March 1975) is a Japanese running coach and former long-distance runner who…Kenji Takao (Japanese: 高尾 憲司; born 23 March 1975) is a Japanese running coach and former long-distance runner who competed mainly in the 10,000 metres. His personal best for the distance was 27:56.05 minutes, set in 1995. He was the 1998 Asian Games champion in the 10,000 m. Takao twice represented Japan at the World Championships in Athletics, running in 1995 and 1999. Other than his Asian Games title, he won two other international 10,000 m medals during his career: a silver at the 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics and a second silver at the 1997 East Asian Games. He competed up to the marathon distance in the latter half of his career but retired in 2005 due to injury. He launched his own running club in 2006 (Running Club Blooming) and has since gone into coaching.
Yoshiyuki Hasegawa (長谷川 祥之, Hasegawa Yoshiyuki; born 11 February 1969) is a former Japanese football player. He played…Yoshiyuki Hasegawa (長谷川 祥之, Hasegawa Yoshiyuki; born 11 February 1969) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Manabu Nakanishi (中西 学, Nakanishi Manabu; born January 22, 1967) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former…Manabu Nakanishi (中西 学, Nakanishi Manabu; born January 22, 1967) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. Nakanishi has always stayed based in NJPW, but has wrestled for various other promotions including World Championship Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Zero1. Nakanishi's career slowly declined after a spinal injury in 2011, but he continued to wrestle for a further nine years, before retiring on February 22, 2020. In 1992, Nakanishi won bronze in freestyle wrestling at the Asian Championships. Later that year, he competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and placed eleventh.
Miyu Kato (Japanese: 加藤 未唯, romanized: Katō Miyu; born 21 November 1994) is a Japanese professional tennis player who…Miyu Kato (Japanese: 加藤 未唯, romanized: Katō Miyu; born 21 November 1994) is a Japanese professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 26 in doubles on 1 January 2024 and No. 122 in singles on 15 January 2018. Kato has won six doubles titles on the WTA Tour and three at WTA 125 level. She has also won four singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In mixed doubles, she won the 2023 French Open with Germany's Tim Pütz, her first Grand Slam title. Three of Kato's six WTA Tour doubles titles were won with Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi: at Auckland and Cleveland in 2023, and Hua Hin in 2024. The pair also finished runners-up in the doubles event at the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy. In 2025, Kato reached the women's doubles finals at two WTA 1000 events: the 2025 Miami Open with Cristina Bucșa and the 2025 China Open with Fanny Stollár. Representing Japan, she won the bronze medal in women's doubles at the 2018 Asian Games with Makoto Ninomiya and has represented her country in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Keika Kitamura (北村 桂香, Kitamura Keika; born November 14, 1995) is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked…Keika Kitamura (北村 桂香, Kitamura Keika; born November 14, 1995) is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 2-dan.
Mai Kuraki (倉木 麻衣, Kuraki Mai) (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer. After releasing her US debut…Mai Kuraki (倉木 麻衣, Kuraki Mai) (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer. After releasing her US debut single "Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, Delicious Way, which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan of 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time. Her second album, Perfect Crime (2001) debuted atop in Japan and has sold over 1.3 million copies nationwide. After the success in Japan, Kuraki targeted the American market again, with the English-language studio album Secret of My Heart (2002), however it failed to enter any charts in the United States. Her third Japanese album, Fairy Tale was released in 2002 and topped the Oricon albums chart. The album has spawned one number-one song, "Winter Bells". Her fourth album, If I Believe become her fourth consecutive number-one album in Japan. Her first compilation album, Wish You the Best (2004) sold nearly a million copies and became the seventh best-selling album of 2004 in Japan. Kuraki's succeeding albums, Fuse of Love (2005), Diamond Wave (2006), and One Life (2008) were released to less commercial success. In 2009, Kuraki saw a revival in her popularity with the increased television appearances and the promotion. Her eighth studio album, Touch Me!, debuted atop in Japan, becoming her first number-one album in five years. Her second compilation album, All My Best (2009) topped the chart in Japan, making her one of the two artists who sent two albums at the top spot on the chart in the year. Her next studio albums, Future Kiss (2010) and Over the Rainbow (2012) both reached top three in Japan. Her third compilation album, Mai Kuraki Best 151A: Love & Hope (2014) managed to peak at number two in Japan and became the ninety-fifth best-selling album in Japan of the year. Her eleventh studio album, Smile (2017) sold less than her previous albums, partly due to the lack of the promotion. Released in 2017, the single "Togetsukyo (Kimi Omou)" peaked at number two in Japan and became the best-selling single for a solo female artist in 2017. The single marked Kuraki's second revival in charts, succeeded by the compilation album, Mai Kuraki x Meitantei Conan Collaboration Best 21: Shinjitsu wa Itsumo Uta ni Aru! (2017), which peaked at number four in Japan and charted on the year-end album chart in 2017 and 2018. Her twelfth and thirteenth albums, Kimi Omou: Shunkashūtō (2018) and Let's Goal!: Barairo no Jinsei (2019) were both moderate success, reaching top three in Japan. Her fifth compilation album, Mai Kuraki Single Collection: Chance for You was released in 2019, in celebration of her 20th anniversary. In 2021, Kuraki released her fourteenth studio album Unconditional Love, which peaked at number four in Japan and spawned a number-one single "Zero kara Hajimete". Her first extended play Forever for You was released in 2024 to commercial success, reaching number three in Japan. Kuraki is best known for singing theme songs for the Japanese television anime series, Case Closed aka detective conan. As of October 2020, she has recorded twenty-three songs for the series and earning her a Guinness World Record for singing the most theme songs for the same television series. Kuraki also holds the record for being the only female artist to have all of her singles consecutively debut in the Top 10 since her debut in 1999, and is the 38th best-selling Japanese music artist of all time. To date, Kuraki has seven number-one albums (five originals and two compilations) and two number-one singles.
