Shinobu Terajima (寺島 しのぶ, Terajima Shinobu; born December 28, 1972) is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include…Shinobu Terajima (寺島 しのぶ, Terajima Shinobu; born December 28, 1972) is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include Akame 48 Waterfalls (2003) and Vibrator (2003). For her role in Caterpillar (2010), Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 60th Berlin Film Festival while her performance in Oh Lucy! (2017) earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.
Kozo Takeda (Japanese: 武田幸三 Japanese pronunciation: [takeda koːzoː]; born December 27, 1972) is a Japanese actor and…Kozo Takeda (Japanese: 武田幸三 Japanese pronunciation: [takeda koːzoː]; born December 27, 1972) is a Japanese actor and former welterweight kickboxer who was competing in K-1 MAX. He won Rajadamnern Stadium champion at welterweight in Muay Thai on January 21, 2001. He has made both the Welterweight and Super Welterweight Rajadamnern Stadium rankings. He is currently a chief adviser of International Sohgoh Budo Federation (ISBF) and he was certified as black belt of the 5th dan in karate by ISBF.
Yuko Emoto (恵本 裕子, Emoto Yūko; born 23 December 1972 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese judoka and Olympic champion.…Yuko Emoto (恵本 裕子, Emoto Yūko; born 23 December 1972 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese judoka and Olympic champion. She won the gold medal in the half middleweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Emoto received a silver medal at the 1994 Asian Games. Emoto is married to South Korean judoka Kim Hyuk. In 2016, Emoto provided input to a manga series written by Makoto Kobayashi titled JJM: Joshi Judou-bu Monogatari.
Yuri Ichii (市井 由理, Ichii Yuri; born December 20, 1972) is a Japanese pop idol and rapper, best known for being a member…Yuri Ichii (市井 由理, Ichii Yuri; born December 20, 1972) is a Japanese pop idol and rapper, best known for being a member in the breakthrough Japanese hip hop trio, East End X Yuri. She was also a singer with the revolving-door group Tokyo Performance Doll (TPD) alongside Ryoko Shinohara. She was part of TPD for a while but sought to do something different, deciding to try rap. Ichii began practicing her rapping in preparation for a solo show with her friend Gaku, who was a part of the group East End. In February 1994 when Gaku performed with Yuri for part of her show, she was seen by File Records (the independent record label that signed East End). They were impressed with her and decided to sign them together for a mini-album. Ichii is a pioneer for women in Japanese hip hop.
Gen Urobuchi (Japanese: 虚淵 玄, Hepburn: Urobuchi Gen; born December 20, 1972) is a Japanese novelist, visual novel…Gen Urobuchi (Japanese: 虚淵 玄, Hepburn: Urobuchi Gen; born December 20, 1972) is a Japanese novelist, visual novel writer and anime screenwriter. He is known for being the co-creator of the highly acclaimed and commercially successful anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which earned him the Tokyo Anime Award for Best Scriptwriter, as well as the writer of the 2003 visual novel Saya no Uta, the 2012 anime Psycho-Pass, the light novel and anime Fate/Zero, and the 2013–2014 tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Gaim. He currently works at Nitroplus and Nitro+chiral. Anime written by Urobuchi that have won the Newtype Anime Awards have been Puella Magi Madoka Magica in 2011, Fate/Zero in 2012 and Psycho-Pass: The Movie in 2015.
Rikiō Takeshi (力皇 猛; born December 20, 1972 as Inoue Takeshi) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked…Rikiō Takeshi (力皇 猛; born December 20, 1972 as Inoue Takeshi) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler.
Shinji Takeda (武田 真治, Takeda Shinji), born December 18, 1972, is a Japanese actor, talent, and saxophone player. He has…Shinji Takeda (武田 真治, Takeda Shinji), born December 18, 1972, is a Japanese actor, talent, and saxophone player. He has had notable roles in such works as The Incite Mill, Kyō Kara Hitman, and Tokyo Eyes.
Kiriko Nananan (Japanese: 魚喃 キリコ, Hepburn: Nananan Kiriko; December 14, 1972 – December 25, 2024) was a Japanese manga…Kiriko Nananan (Japanese: 魚喃 キリコ, Hepburn: Nananan Kiriko; December 14, 1972 – December 25, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist. She was known for her realistic josei work featuring understated artwork with a sense of detachment. In addition, she affiliated herself with the "La nouvelle manga" movement. Nananan died on December 25, 2024; her death was not announced until a year later.
Jun Itoda (井戸田 潤, Itoda Jun; born 13 December 1972, in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese comedian who performs…Jun Itoda (井戸田 潤, Itoda Jun; born 13 December 1972, in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese comedian who performs tsukkomi in the comedy duo Speed Wagon. His partner is Kazuhiro Ozawa. Itoda is represented with Horipro Com.
Haruka Watanabe (渡邉 はる香, Watanabe Haruka; born 13 December 1972) is a retired Japanese ice hockey goaltender. She…Haruka Watanabe (渡邉 はる香, Watanabe Haruka; born 13 December 1972) is a retired Japanese ice hockey goaltender. She competed in the women's tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Tetsu Takano (高野哲, Takano Tetsu; born December 12, 1972 in Obihiro, Japan) is a Japanese rock musician and…Tetsu Takano (高野哲, Takano Tetsu; born December 12, 1972 in Obihiro, Japan) is a Japanese rock musician and singer-songwriter. He first became known as vocalist of the visual kei rock band Malice Mizer from 1992 to 1994. After leaving them, Tetsu formed and performed with Mega8Ball from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2002 he was part of the supergroup Zigzo, who became quite popular despite being an independent band and reunited in 2012. In addition to Zigzo, Tetsu is currently active in the bands Nil, The JuneJulyAugust, Disco Volante and Sillys, all of which are on his record label Afro Skull Records.
Arihito Muramatsu (村松 有人, born December 12, 1972) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder, and current…Arihito Muramatsu (村松 有人, born December 12, 1972) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder, and current first squad hitting coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played in NPB for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Fukuoka SoftBank and Orix Buffaloes.
Nobutaka Hirano (born December 5, 1972) is a former volleyball player from Ama, Aichi, Japan, who played for the Men's…Nobutaka Hirano (born December 5, 1972) is a former volleyball player from Ama, Aichi, Japan, who played for the Men's National Team in the 1990s. Nicknamed Heita he ended up in sixteenth place at the 1998 World Championship.
Daijiro Matsui (Japanese: 松井 大二郎, Matsui Daijirō; born December 5, 1972 in Okayama) is a Japanese mixed martial artist…Daijiro Matsui (Japanese: 松井 大二郎, Matsui Daijirō; born December 5, 1972 in Okayama) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. As a professional wrestler, Matsui has wrestled for UWF International, Battlarts, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Inoki Genome Federation and most recently GLEAT. A former longtime training partner of Kazushi Sakuraba, Matsui is known for his toughness, conditioning, wrestling prowess and unorthodox offense. Despite his mixed success, he holds notable victories over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson, former BAMMA World Middleweight Champion Tom Watson, former world kickboxing champion Jose Landi-Jons, BJJ black belt Rory Singer, and a draw against former Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion and ADCC gold medallist Sanae Kikuta.
Rei Hiroe (広江 礼威, Hiroe Rei; born 5 December 1972) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his manga Black Lagoon.…Rei Hiroe (広江 礼威, Hiroe Rei; born 5 December 1972) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his manga Black Lagoon. When he is working on doujin comics, he goes by the name Red Bear. Hiroe's manga were originally published by Kadokawa Shoten in the 1990s, but none were complete. As a response, Hiroe transferred to Shogakukan in the early 2000s, where all of his manga released before Black Lagoon were republished and re-released.
Saki Takaoka (高岡 早紀 (たかおか さき); born December 3, 1972) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the…Saki Takaoka (高岡 早紀 (たかおか さき); born December 3, 1972) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 19th Hochi Film Award for Crest of Betrayal.
Tsuyoshi Otsuki (大槻 毅, Otsuki Tsuyoshi; born December 1, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He was…Tsuyoshi Otsuki (大槻 毅, Otsuki Tsuyoshi; born December 1, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He was most recently manager of J2 League club Thespa Gunma.
Yuriko Fujii (born 1 December 1972) is a Japanese boccia player. She won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics…Yuriko Fujii (born 1 December 1972) is a Japanese boccia player. She won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the mixed pairs BC1-2 boccia event and a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the mixed team BC1-2 boccia event.
Hirofumi Shii (四位洋文; born November 30, 1972) is a former jockey and current Japanese racehorse trainer affiliated with…Hirofumi Shii (四位洋文; born November 30, 1972) is a former jockey and current Japanese racehorse trainer affiliated with the Ritto Training Center of the Japan Racing Association (JRA). He is the nephew of former jockey Michinori Shii.
Minoru Tanaka (田中稔, Tanaka Minoru; born November 29, 1972), also known by the ring names Heat (ヒート, Hīto) and the…Minoru Tanaka (田中稔, Tanaka Minoru; born November 29, 1972), also known by the ring names Heat (ヒート, Hīto) and the mononymous Minoru (稔, Minoru), is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to Gleat, predominantly performing in its G Prowrestling and Lidet UWF divisions; he also serves as Gleat's UWF Rules Technical Officer. Known as "The Special One", Tanaka first gained prominence in Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG) and Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts (Battlarts) before moving on to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he became a four time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a five time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2006 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. After leaving NJPW, he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he found continued success in the junior heavyweight and tag team ranks upon winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship once and the All Asia Tag Team Championship twice. From 2013 to 2016, Tanaka worked for Wrestle-1. He also performed for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice and is a former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, making him the second man (after Naomichi Marufuji) to hold all three major Japanese junior heavyweight singles titles as well as the only man to hold all five major junior heavyweight titles in Japan (counting the aforementioned tag team prizes).
Minori Hayakari (早狩実紀) (born 29 November 1972) is a Japanese track and field athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres…Minori Hayakari (早狩実紀) (born 29 November 1972) is a Japanese track and field athlete who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Her personal best of 9:33.93 minutes is the Japanese record and she has won straight Japanese national titles since the first event in 2005, taking her sixth title in 2011. She became the first international female steeplechaser from her country, following the event's introduction to the World Championships in 2005, where she set an Asian record. She has featured in the World Championship steeplechase event from 2005 to 2011 and represented Japan in the first ever Olympic women's steeplechase at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In regional competition, she was the bronze medallist at the 2010 Asian Games and took the continental title at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships. She is a five-time participant at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and a two-time medallist at the East Asian Games (1999 and 2009).
Hiroshi Nanami (名波 浩, Nanami Hiroshi; born November 28, 1972) is a Japanese former professional footballer and an…Hiroshi Nanami (名波 浩, Nanami Hiroshi; born November 28, 1972) is a Japanese former professional footballer and an assistant coach of the Japan national team.
Keiji Kaimoto (海本 慶治, Kaimoto Keiji; born November 26, 1972) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan…Keiji Kaimoto (海本 慶治, Kaimoto Keiji; born November 26, 1972) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. His younger brother Kojiro Kaimoto is also a former footballer.
Makiko Sanada (真田マキ子, Sanada Makiko; born 25 November 1972) is a Japanese gymnast. She competed in six events at the…Makiko Sanada (真田マキ子, Sanada Makiko; born 25 November 1972) is a Japanese gymnast. She competed in six events at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Masaaki Sakata (坂田正彰, Sakata Masaaki) (born 25 November 1972 in Nagaokakyō), is a Japanese former rugby union player…Masaaki Sakata (坂田正彰, Sakata Masaaki) (born 25 November 1972 in Nagaokakyō), is a Japanese former rugby union player who played as hooker.
Yoshiko Kira (born 14 November 1972) is a Japanese sports shooter. She competed in the women's double trap event at the…Yoshiko Kira (born 14 November 1972) is a Japanese sports shooter. She competed in the women's double trap event at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英城, Sakamoto Hideki) is a Japanese music composer, best known for his contributions in video games.…Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英城, Sakamoto Hideki) is a Japanese music composer, best known for his contributions in video games. He serves as the representative director of Noisycroak, a Tokyo-based sound design company focused on game soundtracks. Echochrome II holds the Guinness World Record for the longest single musical track in a video game, lasting 75 minutes and 7 seconds.
Eiji Shotsu (正津 英志, Shotsu Eiji; born November 13, 1972) is a Japanese professional Nippon Professional Baseball…Eiji Shotsu (正津 英志, Shotsu Eiji; born November 13, 1972) is a Japanese professional Nippon Professional Baseball player. He is currently with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.
Kazumi Inamura (稲村 和美, Inamura Kazumi; born 10 November 1972) is a Japanese politician. She was the mayor of Amagasaki…Kazumi Inamura (稲村 和美, Inamura Kazumi; born 10 November 1972) is a Japanese politician. She was the mayor of Amagasaki from 13 December 2010 until 1 December 2022. She is member of the Greens Japan political party and was its co-president from 2008 to 2010. She was a student at the University of Kobe during the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake. She was a member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly.
Terufumi Horiuchi (堀内 照文, Horiuchi Terufumi; born November 2, 1972) is a member of the Japanese Communist Party, former…Terufumi Horiuchi (堀内 照文, Horiuchi Terufumi; born November 2, 1972) is a member of the Japanese Communist Party, former serving in the House of Representatives. He was born in the center of the Osaka (the second largest metropolitan area in Japan) in 1972. He graduated from Shumiyoshi High School, and Kobe University in 1991. He was elected to this position in 2014, representing the Kinki region. Horiuchi was critical of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to reduce the turnover rate of people giving up their jobs to care for the elderly to zero by improving nursing care as unrealistic. He said that to make Abe's policy work, one would need to increase the wages of those working in nursing care and to give more state funding to facilities.
Takafumi Horie (堀江 貴文, Horie Takafumi; born October 29, 1972) is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a…Takafumi Horie (堀江 貴文, Horie Takafumi; born October 29, 1972) is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began on September 4, 2006. On March 16, 2007, Horie was sentenced to imprisonment of 2 years and 6 months. He is popularly known as Horiemon (ホリエモン) due to his resemblance to Doraemon, the chubby robot cat in a popular Japanese cartoon. The name Horiemon was also given to a racehorse he owned, after the name had been chosen by voting on a Livedoor website.
Yasunori Uchitomi (Japanese: 内冨 恭則; born 29 October 1972), is a Japanese former long-distance runner who specialized in…Yasunori Uchitomi (Japanese: 内冨 恭則; born 29 October 1972), is a Japanese former long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 meters steeplechase. His personal best for the event is 8:26.48 minutes, set in 1997. He was one of Japan's top steeplechasers during his career, taking three titles at the Japan Championships in Athletics and six at the Japanese National Games. His greatest achievement was a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games, having won bronze four years earlier. He was twice a medalist at the Asian Athletics Championships (silver in 1998, bronze in 2003). He had much success at the East Asian Games, winning back-to-back titles in 1997 to 2001 with games record times before finally taking silver in 2005 (his last international performance). Uchitomi also represented Japan at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1999 and was a corporate team runner for Chugoku Electric Power Company, winning several Japan corporate titles.
Kuniaki Takahashi (高橋邦明, Takahashi Kuniaki; born 27 October 1972, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a retired Japanese…Kuniaki Takahashi (高橋邦明, Takahashi Kuniaki; born 27 October 1972, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a retired Japanese professional drifting driver. He competed in the D1 Grand Prix series for his own team, Team Kunny'z. Alongside D1, he also competed in Formula Drift Japan events. He currently served as a judge for D1GP.
Sayuri Uchida (内田 さゆり, Uchida Sayuri; born October 25, 1972 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress who…Sayuri Uchida (内田 さゆり, Uchida Sayuri; born October 25, 1972 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress who appeared in the Super Sentai TV series Choujin Sentai Jetman. The program is the fifteenth entry of Toei Company's Super Sentai series. It aired on TV Asahi on February 15, 1991 to February 14, 1992 with a total of 51 episodes. She played the character "Ako Hayasaka" in the series.
Jun Hayashi (林 潤, Hayashi Jun; born 23 October 1972) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party…Jun Hayashi (林 潤, Hayashi Jun; born 23 October 1972) is a former 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 Kamakura, Kanagawa and graduate of Keio University, he worked at the national newspaper Mainichi Shimbun from 1995 to 2001. In 2005 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time, after running unsuccessfully in 2003.
Toshinori Yonekura (米倉 利紀, Yonekura Toshinori) born October 21, 1972, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record…Toshinori Yonekura (米倉 利紀, Yonekura Toshinori) born October 21, 1972, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer originally from Toyonaka, Osaka. Known as "Yone" to fans, Toshinori made his major label debut with the single "Mikan no Android" in 1992 on Geneon Entertainment. Aside from his own music career, Yonekura has crafted songs for some of Japan's best known acts such as KinKi Kids, Hiromi Go, Akiko Wada, and SMAP. In 2008, he made his first foray into acting joining the Japanese production of the Broadway musical, Rent.
Nobuko Motomura (Japanese: 本村 伸子, Hepburn: Motomura Nobuko; born 20 October 1972) is a Japanese politician of the…Nobuko Motomura (Japanese: 本村 伸子, Hepburn: Motomura Nobuko; born 20 October 1972) is a Japanese politician of the Japanese Communist Party who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2014 to 2026.
Sayaka Aoki (あおき さやか, Aoki Sayaka; October 19, 1972) is a Japanese voice actress. She is affiliated with Bell…Sayaka Aoki (あおき さやか, Aoki Sayaka; October 19, 1972) is a Japanese voice actress. She is affiliated with Bell Production management. She is originally from Akita Prefecture. She sometimes uses Shizuka Aoki (青木 静香, Aoki Shizuka) for stage performances.
Noritada Saneyoshi (實好 礼忠, Saneyoshi Noritada; born October 19, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager.…Noritada Saneyoshi (實好 礼忠, Saneyoshi Noritada; born October 19, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He is currently the Manager of Ehime FC.
Mika Ninagawa (蜷川 実花, Ninagawa Mika; born October 18, 1972) is a Japanese photographer and director, known for her…Mika Ninagawa (蜷川 実花, Ninagawa Mika; born October 18, 1972) is a Japanese photographer and director, known for her brightly colored photographs of flowers, goldfish, and landscapes.
Yoshihito Wayama (和山 義仁, Wayama Yoshihito; born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name JIRO, is a Japanese…Yoshihito Wayama (和山 義仁, Wayama Yoshihito; born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name JIRO, is a Japanese musician best known as the bassist of the rock band Glay. He is also the bassist in the sideband The Predators.
Soichi Fujita (藤田 宗一, Fujita Soichi; born October 17, 1972 in Yawata, Kyoto, Japan) is a retired Japanese left-handed…Soichi Fujita (藤田 宗一, Fujita Soichi; born October 17, 1972 in Yawata, Kyoto, Japan) is a retired Japanese left-handed relief pitcher who played most of his career in Nippon Professional Baseball. Fujita was part of the Japanese national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He pitched every game of his career in relief and holds the Japanese record for most pitching appearances.
