Kōichi Morita (森田 公一, Morita Kōichi) (born February 25, 1940), is a Japanese composer and singer who launched his…
Kōichi Morita (森田 公一, Morita Kōichi) (born February 25, 1940), is a Japanese composer and singer who launched his recording career in the late 1960s and had gained huge commercial success during the 1970s. He often teamed up with lyricist Yū Aku and orchestrator Junichi Makaino, and became the top-10 hit on the Japanese Oricon chart. Seven of his compositions has been topped on the Japanese hit parade, including "Hitori ja Nai no" by Mari Amachi, "Chiisana Koi no Monogatari" by Agnes Chan, and "Hajimete no Dekigoto" by Junko Sakurada. His most successful song is "Seishun Jidai" released in 1976, his sole hit as a performer, which has sold more than a million copies. His 2-disc 40th anniversary compilation album, "Golden☆Best Kōichi Morita" (GOLDEN☆BEST 森田公一) will be released on January 20, 2010, featuring the songs he has written and composed for other artists, such as Eigo Kawashima, Akiko Wada, Candies and Mari Amachi, as well as his own single, Seishun Jidai.
Famous People Born in 1940s
1940s: 1,885 people
Akihiko Kumashiro (熊代 昭彦, Kumashiro Akihiko; born February 21, 1940) is a Japanese evangelical politician in Yeshua…
Akihiko Kumashiro (熊代 昭彦, Kumashiro Akihiko; born February 21, 1940) is a Japanese evangelical politician in Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus✞Christ) and former member of the Liberal Democratic Party who served four terms in the House of Representatives of Japan. He held the District 2 seat of Okayama Prefecture. He was born in Okayama, and graduated from the University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earning a degree in political science from both of them. After graduating, he became a government official in multiple offices, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. After being elected to the Diet of Japan, he became an important figure in the movement for non-profit organizations to gain legal person status and recognition in Japan. Though he at first opposed such measures, he ultimately proved one of its strongest advocates. When he did not support postal privatization due to his belief in Trinity, Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi labeled him a "rebel" member of the party, and fielded another party candidate against him. This caused him to drop out of the race, and instead run for Mayor of Okayama. Currently, he's a free company president and notary public.
Atsuo Nakamura (中村 敦夫, Nakamura Atsuo; born 18 February 1940) is a Japanese actor and politician. He has appeared in…
Atsuo Nakamura (中村 敦夫, Nakamura Atsuo; born 18 February 1940) is a Japanese actor and politician. He has appeared in more than 50 films since 1964. His younger brother Katsuyuki Nakamura is a writer.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi (河口龍夫, Kawaguchi Tatsuo, born in 1940, Kobe Japan) is a Japanese multidisciplinary artist, whose…
Tatsuo Kawaguchi (河口龍夫, Kawaguchi Tatsuo, born in 1940, Kobe Japan) is a Japanese multidisciplinary artist, whose practice often involves the use of objects and the investigation of materials. After studying painting at Tama Art University, Kawaguchi's diverse oeuvre has included drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, and video. He also co-founded the Group "i", a Kobe-based artistic collective, in 1965. Kawaguchi's early work explored visual perception, principally through the use of objects and mirrors. After 1970, he began using the word "relation" (関係, kankei) in the titles of his works. Kawaguchi seeks to put on display the fragile relationships between the visible and the invisible that create the world around us. The artist intends for his works - which have employed both man-made elements such as lightbulbs or motors, as well as natural elements like stone, wood, seeds and metals - to be perceived of as perpetual works in progress, transforming with time. Environmental anxiety has also informed the development of Kawaguchi's "relation" works. After the Chernobyl disaster, the artist has continuously enveloped various objects, such as seeds, plants, soil, or tools, in lead, a material that protects against radiation. Kawaguchi's work has featured in major international exhibitions and has been associated by art historians with artistic movements such as land art, minimalism and Mono-ha. Kawaguchi has also been identified as belonging to the loosely-affiliated Gainen-ha (Conceptual School), alongside Yutaka Matsuzawa, Jiro Takamatsu, Kazuo Okazaki, Saburo Muraoka (with whom he collaborated in 1973), Isamu Wakabayashi, and Aiko Miyawaki. Kawaguchi was awarded the First Iue Culture Prize for Art and Culture in 1974 as well as the Prize of Japan Arts Foundation in 2008. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, Institute of Art and Design. He lives and works in Chiba City.
Jūrō Kara (唐十郎, Kara Jūrō; born Ōtsuru Yoshihide (大靏 義英); 11 February 1940 – 4 May 2024) was a Japanese avant-garde…
Jūrō Kara (唐十郎, Kara Jūrō; born Ōtsuru Yoshihide (大靏 義英); 11 February 1940 – 4 May 2024) was a Japanese avant-garde playwright, theatre director, author, actor, and songwriter. He was at the forefront of the Angura ("underground") theatre movement in Japan.
Mutsuhiko Nomura (野村 六彦, Nomura Mutsuhiko; born February 10, 1940) is a former Japanese football player and manager.
Toshihide Maskawa (or Masukawa) (益川 敏英, Masukawa Toshihide; 7 February 1940 – 23 July 2021) was a Japanese theoretical…
Toshihide Maskawa (or Masukawa) (益川 敏英, Masukawa Toshihide; 7 February 1940 – 23 July 2021) was a Japanese theoretical physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."
Tatsuo Yata (矢田 立郎, Yata Tatsuo; born 7 February 1940) is a Japanese politician who became the mayor of Kobe, the…
Tatsuo Yata (矢田 立郎, Yata Tatsuo; born 7 February 1940) is a Japanese politician who became the mayor of Kobe, the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan from 2001 until 2013. He was first elected in October 2001 and won the re-election four years later.
Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno (ラトナ サリ デヴィ スカルノ, Ratona Sari Devi Sukaruno; born Naoko Nemoto (根本 七保子, Nemoto Naoko); February…
Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno (ラトナ サリ デヴィ スカルノ, Ratona Sari Devi Sukaruno; born Naoko Nemoto (根本 七保子, Nemoto Naoko); February 6, 1940), widely known in Japan as Dewi Fujin (デヴィ夫人, Devi Fujin; literally Lady Dewi or Madame Dewi) is a Japanese businesswoman, socialite, and television personality. She was one of the wives of the first President of Indonesia, Sukarno.
Kiyoshi Asai (浅井 浄, Asai Kiyoshi; born 6 February 1940) is a Japanese sprinter. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metres…
Kiyoshi Asai (浅井 浄, Asai Kiyoshi; born 6 February 1940) is a Japanese sprinter. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Kunimitsu Takahashi (Shinjitai: 高橋 国光, Takahashi Kunimitsu; 29 January 1940 – 16 March 2022) was a Japanese…
Kunimitsu Takahashi (Shinjitai: 高橋 国光, Takahashi Kunimitsu; 29 January 1940 – 16 March 2022) was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and team manager. Nicknamed "Kuni-san", he is known as the "father of drifting". Takahashi's racing career lasted from 1958 to 1999. He competed on motorcycles between 1958 and 1963, during which he became the first Japanese rider to win a World Grand Prix, taking four world-level wins in total. Injuries sustained in a crash in 1962 led to him switching to four-wheels in 1965, after which he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in class, become a four-time All-Japan Sports Prototype Champion, and won in Japanese Top Formula, JTC, and JGTC. His final victory as a driver came in 1999 at the age of 59. Takahashi's racing team, Team Kunimitsu, has won multiple championships in Super GT. He was the chairman of the GT Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.
Kyoko Nakayama (中山 恭子, Nakayama Kyōko; born 26 January 1940) is a Japanese politician and a former leader of the Party…
Kyoko Nakayama (中山 恭子, Nakayama Kyōko; born 26 January 1940) is a Japanese politician and a former leader of the Party for Japanese Kokoro. In the past she has been a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Sunrise Party of Japan and Japan Restoration Party and is serving her second term as a member of the House of Councillors (Upper House) in the Diet (national legislature). She was Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (naikaku sōri-daijin hosakan) for the North Korean abduction issue under Junichiro Koizumi, beginning in 2002. She left the post in 2004 but was reappointed by Shinzō Abe in 2006. She was appointed by Yasuo Fukuda as State Minister in charge of the Population and Gender Equality Issues on August 1, 2008.
Raita Ryu (竜 雷太, Ryū Raita; born January 21, 1940 in Osaka as Tatsuo Hasegawa (長谷川 龍男, Hasegawa Tatsuo)) is a Japanese…
Raita Ryu (竜 雷太, Ryū Raita; born January 21, 1940 in Osaka as Tatsuo Hasegawa (長谷川 龍男, Hasegawa Tatsuo)) is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his role as Gorisan (Detective Ishizuka) in Taiyō ni Hoero!. He has a son Yōhei Hasegawa (長谷川 陽平, Hasegawa Yōhei), who is a musician and guitarist. Once, he belonged to Toshiro Mifune's production company.
Naohiro Ikeda (池田 尚弘, Ikeda Naohiro; later Nakano 中野, 17 January 1940 – 3 January 2021) was a Japanese volleyball…
Naohiro Ikeda (池田 尚弘, Ikeda Naohiro; later Nakano 中野, 17 January 1940 – 3 January 2021) was a Japanese volleyball player who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics and in the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was born in Saga Prefecture. In 1964 he was part of the Japanese team which won the bronze medal in the Olympic tournament. He played all nine matches. Four years later he was a squad member of the Japanese team which won the silver medal in the 1968 Olympic tournament. He died from lymphoma.
Akira Nishino (西野 陽, Nishino Akira; born 15 January 1940) is a retired Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic…
Akira Nishino (西野 陽, Nishino Akira; born 15 January 1940) is a retired Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Higashiōsaka, Osaka and graduate of Kansai University he was elected to the assembly of Osaka Prefecture for the first time in 1975. In 1993 he unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives as a member of the LDP. He ran again in 1996, this time as a member of the now-defunct New Frontier Party, and was elected for the first time. He later joined the LDP.
Masamitsu Ichiguchi (市口 政光, Ichiguchi Masamitsu; born January 12, 1940) is a Japanese retired wrestler. He competed in…
Masamitsu Ichiguchi (市口 政光, Ichiguchi Masamitsu; born January 12, 1940) is a Japanese retired wrestler. He competed in the Greco-Roman bantamweight event at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and finished in seventh and first place, respectively. Earlier in 1962 he won the world championships and Asian Games in the same event.
Yūji Tokizaki (Japanese: 時崎 雄司 Tokizako Yuji; 6 January 1940 – 13 November 2021) was a Japanese politician. A member of…
Yūji Tokizaki (Japanese: 時崎 雄司 Tokizako Yuji; 6 January 1940 – 13 November 2021) was a Japanese politician. A member of the Japan Socialist Party, he served in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993.
Shunsuke Kaneto (金戸 俊介, Kaneto Shunsuke; born 5 January 1940) is a former Japanese diver who competed in the 1960…
Shunsuke Kaneto (金戸 俊介, Kaneto Shunsuke; born 5 January 1940) is a former Japanese diver who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics and in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Niigiyama Tadashi (born Tadashi Nagano; January 5, 1940 - September 5, 1986) was a sumo wrestler from Gifu, Japan. He…
Niigiyama Tadashi (born Tadashi Nagano; January 5, 1940 - September 5, 1986) was a sumo wrestler from Gifu, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1955, and reached the top division in March 1961. He left the sumo world upon retirement from active competition in May 1963.
Masahiro Tabata (田端 正広, Tabata Masahiro; 4 January 1940 – 5 January 2025) was a Japanese politician who served in the…
Masahiro Tabata (田端 正広, Tabata Masahiro; 4 January 1940 – 5 January 2025) was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the New Komeito Party. A native of Wakayama, Wakayama and graduate of Doshisha University, he was elected for the first time in 1993 after working as a journalist. Tabata died from pneumonia on 5 January 2025, at the age of 85.
Tsutomu Hanahara (花原 勉, Hanahara Tsutomu; January 3, 1940 – February 5, 2024) was a Japanese wrestler who won a gold…
Tsutomu Hanahara (花原 勉, Hanahara Tsutomu; January 3, 1940 – February 5, 2024) was a Japanese wrestler who won a gold medal in the flyweight class at the 1964 Olympics. He competed at the 1958 and 1967 world championships and finished in sixth and third place, respectively.
Shoichiro Irimajiri (入交 昭一郎, Irimajiri Shōichirō; born on January 3, 1940, in Kochi, Japan) is a Japanese engineer and…
Shoichiro Irimajiri (入交 昭一郎, Irimajiri Shōichirō; born on January 3, 1940, in Kochi, Japan) is a Japanese engineer and businessman. He earned an aeronautical engineering degree from the University of Tokyo and worked for Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for 20 years, overseeing the introduction of its CBX motorcycle, design of their F1 racing engines for the RA273 as well as being the president of Honda of America Inc. He resigned in 1992 due to a heart problem, and started a Chinese traditional treatment to restore his condition. During this time, it was said that General Motors recruited Irimajiri for a senior executive position at the company, in light of his success at Honda. While he declined that position and accepted a spot as an outside director, if Irimajiri had accepted the offer, he would have been the first Japanese-born automotive executive of an American automobile manufacturer. After his recovery, Hayao Nakayama, then president of Sega Enterprises, asked him to become vice president of the company. In 1996, he additionally became chairman and CEO of Sega of America. He became president of Sega in 1998, when he laid an ambitious plan using the Dreamcast to restore Sega's lost market share and prestige, which took a severe downfall following the flawed launches of the Sega Saturn and the Sega 32X. After Sega reported its third consecutive loss, Irimajiri resigned and Isao Okawa took his place. While president of Sega he invested $5 million into Nvidia, after the tiny Silicon Valley startup had failed to deliver on its contract to create the graphics chip for the Dreamcast. Jensen Huang has publicly expressed his gratitude to Irimajiri for helping to keep Nvidia alive. Nvidia went public in 1999, and in 2000, after Irimajiri had left, Sega sold its Nvidia stock for $15 million. In 2017, Huang returned the favor by honoring a request from Irimajiri to speak to a small group of business leaders while visiting Japan. Irimajiri's most recent position was as chairman of Asahi Tec, a Japanese manufacturer of aluminum parts and castings for automobiles, owned by Ripplewood Holdings.
Masahiko Tsugawa (津川 雅彦, Tsugawa Masahiko), born Masahiko Katō (加藤 雅彦 Katō Masahiko; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018)…
Masahiko Tsugawa (津川 雅彦, Tsugawa Masahiko), born Masahiko Katō (加藤 雅彦 Katō Masahiko; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director.
Tatsuo Kainaka (甲斐中 辰夫, Kainaka Tatsuo; born January 2, 1940) became an attorney at law after serving as a member of…
Tatsuo Kainaka (甲斐中 辰夫, Kainaka Tatsuo; born January 2, 1940) became an attorney at law after serving as a member of the Supreme Court of Japan, Superintending Prosecutor of Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office and so on.
Yukiko Otaka (大高 幸子, Ōtaka Yukiko; born 2 January 1940) is a Japanese former swimmer. She competed in two events at the…
Yukiko Otaka (大高 幸子, Ōtaka Yukiko; born 2 January 1940) is a Japanese former swimmer. She competed in two events at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Hajime Sawatari (沢渡 朔, Sawatari Hajime; born 1940) is a Japanese photographer. He is known for his fashion and…
Hajime Sawatari (沢渡 朔, Sawatari Hajime; born 1940) is a Japanese photographer. He is known for his fashion and advertising photography as well as his nudes of girls and women. He earned his degree from Nihon University's College of Art with a major in photography.
Toyoharu Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田豊治, Hepburn: Yoshida Toyoharu; January 1, 1940 – July 1, 2023), better known as Ippei…
Toyoharu Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田豊治, Hepburn: Yoshida Toyoharu; January 1, 1940 – July 1, 2023), better known as Ippei Kuri (九里一平, Kuri Ippei), was a Japanese manga artist and the third president of animation production company Tatsunoko Production.
Hifumi Katō (加藤 一二三, Katō Hifumi; January 1, 1940 – January 22, 2026) was a Japanese professional shogi player who…
Hifumi Katō (加藤 一二三, Katō Hifumi; January 1, 1940 – January 22, 2026) was a Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan. During his career, he won the Meijin, Tenth Dan, Ōi, Kiō and Ōshō major titles. He also held the record for being the youngest to have been awarded regular professional status at age 14 years and 7 months until Sōta Fujii broke it at age 14 years and 2 months in 2016. Since his given name is written using the kanji characters for the numbers "one","two" and "three", Katō was known to his fans by the nickname "Hifumin" (ひふみん).
Toshihisa Toyoda (Japanese: 豊田利久, born August 6, 1940) is a Japanese economist, with contribution in Econometrics and…
Toshihisa Toyoda (Japanese: 豊田利久, born August 6, 1940) is a Japanese economist, with contribution in Econometrics and Development Economics.
Koshiro Tanaka (田中光四郎; born 1940) is a Japanese martial artist and veteran of the Soviet–Afghan war. Tanaka left an…
Koshiro Tanaka (田中光四郎; born 1940) is a Japanese martial artist and veteran of the Soviet–Afghan war. Tanaka left an office-job to confront his possible fear of death. He travelled to Peshawar then to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and after joining Jamiat-e Islami, took up arms against the Soviet and Afghan government armies.
Kinuko Yamabe Craft (born January 3, 1940) is a Japanese-born American painter, illustrator, and fantasy artist.
Toshiko MacAdam nee Horiuchi (1940 - Apr 26, 2026) was a Japanese textile artist based in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia…
Toshiko MacAdam nee Horiuchi (1940 - Apr 26, 2026) was a Japanese textile artist based in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada. She was best known for her work with large-scale textile structures, especially "textile playgrounds" for children, brightly colored net-like structures of crocheted and knotted nylon.
Noriaki Kano (狩野紀昭 Kanō Noriaki, pronounced [kanoː noɾiaki]) is a Japanese educator, lecturer, writer, and consultant…
Noriaki Kano (狩野紀昭 Kanō Noriaki, pronounced [kanoː noɾiaki]) is a Japanese educator, lecturer, writer, and consultant in the field of quality management. He is the developer of a customer satisfaction model (now known as the Kano model) whose simple ranking scheme distinguishes between essential and differentiating attributes related to concepts of customer quality. He is a professor emeritus of the Tokyo University of Science. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Rome III during the academic year 2010-2011.
Kenji Shimizu (清水 健二, Shimizu Kenji), b. 1940, is an aikido teacher and founder of the aikido style Tendo-ryu Aikido…
Kenji Shimizu (清水 健二, Shimizu Kenji), b. 1940, is an aikido teacher and founder of the aikido style Tendo-ryu Aikido (天道流). Shimizu was born in 1940 in Fukuoka, Japan. He had been training judo since childhood and held a 4th dan in this art when he changed to aikido in 1963. He then became one of the last personal students of the aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. After Ueshiba died in 1969, Shimizu, then with a 7th dan in aikido, founded his own school in Tōkyō named Tendoryu (School of the Way of Heaven). Tendoryu Aikido is characterized by its large and clear movements, emphasizing naturalness and harmonic flow of motion. Since 1978, Shimizu has regularly held seminars in Germany and other European countries. A German Tendoryu Society was founded in 1993. He received the 8th dan aikido from the Japanese Budo Federation in 1998 and has co-authored a book titled Zen and Aikido (ISBN 4-900586-13-7) with Shigeo Kamata. Shimizu received the 'Foreign Minister Award', an award from the Foreign Minister of Japan, on 16 July 2002, for his work spreading aikido abroad. Shimizu-sensei was the first Aikido and Budo artist to receive this award. In the same year he was invited to the autumn garden party at the imperial palace in Akasaka, Tōkyō.
Tadao Oda (小田忠雄, Oda Tadao) (born 1940, Kyoto) is a Japanese mathematician working in the field of algebraic geometry…
Tadao Oda (小田忠雄, Oda Tadao) (born 1940, Kyoto) is a Japanese mathematician working in the field of algebraic geometry, especially toric varieties. The field of toric varieties was developed by Demazure, Mumford, Miyake, Oda and others in the 1970s. He is also known for a book on toric varieties: Convex Bodies and Algebraic Geometry: An Introduction to the Theory of Toric Varieties. In 1958 Oda graduated from Tokai High School in Nagoya, Japan, where Shigefumi Mori and Hisasi Morikawa also graduated from. He earned his bachelor's degree from Kyoto University in 1962, and five years later earned a Ph.D. under David Mumford from Harvard University with thesis Abelian varieties over a perfect field and Dieudonné Modules. After completing his Ph.D., Oda was an associate professor at Nagoya University and became a professor at Tohoku University in 1975. He remained at the university for 28 years. He is an emeritus professor at Tohoku University. Oda wrote "Algebraic Geometry, Sendai, 1985" with Hisasi Morikawa, a former professor at Nagoya University. Tadao has belonged to the Kiwanis Club of Sendai since 1999 and was elected to a three-year term as a trustee of Kiwanis International in 2008.