Chisaki Morito (森戸知沙希; born February 19, 2000) is a Japanese pop singer, dancer, and a 14th-generation member of…Chisaki Morito (森戸知沙希; born February 19, 2000) is a Japanese pop singer, dancer, and a 14th-generation member of Japanese girl group Morning Musume and is a former member of Country Girls up until their disbandment in 2019.
Asuka Takahashi (髙橋 明日香, Takahashi Asuka; born 13 November 1999) is a Japanese badminton player from Yonex team. She…Asuka Takahashi (髙橋 明日香, Takahashi Asuka; born 13 November 1999) is a Japanese badminton player from Yonex team. She won her first international title at the Estonian International tournament in 2019.
Tenka Hashimoto (橋本 甜歌（はしもと てんか）, Hashimoto Tenka; born 19 November 1993) is a Japanese Tarento. Her former stage name…Tenka Hashimoto (橋本 甜歌（はしもと てんか）, Hashimoto Tenka; born 19 November 1993) is a Japanese Tarento. Her former stage name was Tenchim (てんちむ, Tenchimu).
Yuhimaru Mimura (三村勇飛丸, Mimura Yuhimaru; born 27 February 1989) is a Japanese international rugby union player who…Yuhimaru Mimura (三村勇飛丸, Mimura Yuhimaru; born 27 February 1989) is a Japanese international rugby union player who plays as a loose forward. He currently plays for the Sunwolves in Super Rugby and Yamaha Júbilo in Japan's domestic Top League.
Yohei Sugai (Japanese: 菅井 洋平, Hepburn: Sugai Yōhei; born 30 August 1985) is a retired Japanese long jumper. He competed…Yohei Sugai (Japanese: 菅井 洋平, Hepburn: Sugai Yōhei; born 30 August 1985) is a retired Japanese long jumper. He competed at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing without qualifying for the final. His personal best in the event is 8.18 metres (+1.3 m/s) set in Walnut in 2015.
Yū Tejima (手島 優, Tejima Yū; born 27 August 1982, in Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese gravure idol, tarento, and…Yū Tejima (手島 優, Tejima Yū; born 27 August 1982, in Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese gravure idol, tarento, and actress. Tejima is represented with To-Win, and later Platinum Production.
Atsushi Abe (阿部 敦, Abe Atsushi; born March 25, 1981) is a Japanese voice actor and narrator represented by Ken…Atsushi Abe (阿部 敦, Abe Atsushi; born March 25, 1981) is a Japanese voice actor and narrator represented by Ken Production. Some of his major roles include Toma Kamijo in the A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun series, Kukai Soma in Shugo Chara!, Moritaka Mashiro in Bakuman, Takashi Kosuda in B Gata H Kei, Koichi Sakakibara in Another, Touichirou Izumida in Yowamushi Pedal, and Kokonotsu Shikada in Dagashi Kashi. Abe has used aliases for some of his work, especially when voicing adult games, visual novels, and drama CDs. He has also been credited as Jun Teradake (寺竹 順, Teradake Jun), Hakana Kannagi (神凪 儚, Kannagi Hakana), Magic (マジック, Majikku), Kaoru Nagihara (凪原 薫, Nagihara Kaoru), and Tatsumi Shirogane (銀 巽, Shirogane Tatsumi).
Takayuki Nishida (西田 隆維, Nishida Takayuki; born April 26, 1977) is a retired male long-distance runner from Japan who…Takayuki Nishida (西田 隆維, Nishida Takayuki; born April 26, 1977) is a retired male long-distance runner from Japan who mainly competed in the marathon race during his career. He set his personal best (2:08:45) in the classic distance on February 4, 2001 in Ōita. He has worked as an interpreter since his retirement.
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.
Shoichi Maruyama (丸山 昭一, Maruyama Shōichi), better known by his ring name Kamikaze (sometimes stylized in capital…Shoichi Maruyama (丸山 昭一, Maruyama Shōichi), better known by his ring name Kamikaze (sometimes stylized in capital letters as KAMIKAZE), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW).
Kazuhiro Soda (想田 和弘, Sōda Kazuhiro; born 1970 in Tochigi Prefecture) is a Japanese documentary filmmaker and author…Kazuhiro Soda (想田 和弘, Sōda Kazuhiro; born 1970 in Tochigi Prefecture) is a Japanese documentary filmmaker and author based in New York City. He is known for his observational method of documentary filmmaking. Soda obtained a degree in religious studies from the University of Tokyo in 1993 and a BFA in filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he has remained since, in 1997.
Noriyo Tateno (立野 記代, Tateno Noriyo) (born December 1, 1965) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best…Noriyo Tateno (立野 記代, Tateno Noriyo) (born December 1, 1965) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known as one half of the tag team Jumping Bomb Angels with Itsuki Yamazaki. She worked in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, WWF and has been working in Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling since 1992, until her retirement in 2010.
Yuichi Watanabe (渡部 優一, Watanabe Yūichi; born November 9, 1962) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional…Yuichi Watanabe (渡部 優一, Watanabe Yūichi; born November 9, 1962) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He competed in Shooto's Lightweight division and was the inaugural Shooto Lightweight Champion defeating Kazuhiro Kusayanagi. As a pro wrestler he competes for Real Japan Pro Wrestling under the name Super Rider (スーパーライダー, Sūpā Raidā). He has also wrestled for notable promotions such as W*ING, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, IWA Japan, Battlarts, Dramatic Dream Team, Pro Wrestling Kageki, Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Diamond Ring.
Hiroshi Ogawa (小川 博, Ogawa Hiroshi; born April 2, 1962) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched…Hiroshi Ogawa (小川 博, Ogawa Hiroshi; born April 2, 1962) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Lotte Orions. In 2004, he was convicted of murder. On November 18, 2004, Ogawa murdered a 67-year-old woman named Kazuko Nishiuchi. His uniform number, 26, has been retired since 2005. On September 29, 2005, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Saitama District Court.
Toshimitsu Motegi (茂木 敏充, Motegi Toshimitsu; born 7 October 1955) is a Japanese politician who is serving as Minister…Toshimitsu Motegi (茂木 敏充, Motegi Toshimitsu; born 7 October 1955) is a Japanese politician who is serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs and as a member of the House of Representatives. He has previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021, and as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2012 to 2014. He served as the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2021 to 2024. He was the leader of the Heisei Kenkyūkai faction within the LDP, before its dissolution in 2024.
Hideyuki Nagashima (長島 偉之, Nagashima Hideyuki; born 27 May 1953) is a Japanese former wrestler who competed in the 1984…Hideyuki Nagashima (長島 偉之, Nagashima Hideyuki; born 27 May 1953) is a Japanese former wrestler who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Masao Urino (売野 雅勇, Urino Masao; born 22 February 1951 in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese lyricist…Masao Urino (売野 雅勇, Urino Masao; born 22 February 1951 in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese lyricist, script writer, and film director. He has written lyrics for many musical groups and individual artists, sometimes under the pseudonym Reiji Asō (麻生 麗二, Asō Reiji). After graduating from Tochigi Prefectural Ashikaga High School, he graduated in 1974 with a degree in literature from Sophia University. After graduating, he worked as a copy writer for the advertising firm Mannensha (萬年社), which went bankrupt in 1999. Due to missing an error in an advertisement in a national newspaper, though, he was forced to do other work. While working at Tōkyū Agency International (now Frontage), he made his lyricist debut with the 1981 Chanels song Hoshi Kuzu no Dance Hall. In 1982, he had a big hit with the Akina Nakamori song Shōjo A. From there, he wrote the lyrics for a series of hit songs sung by Hiroaki Serizawa, and for the J-pop group The Checkers (Namida no Request). He has written lyrics for artists including Hidemi Ishikawa, Jun'ichi Inagaki, Daisuke Inoue, Hiromi Iwasaki, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Tomio Umezawa, Yukiko Okada, Yōko Oginome, Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe, Naoko Kawai, Yuri Kunizane, Masahiko Kondō, Kiyotaka Sugiyama, Tomomi Nishimura, Yū Hayami, Chiemi Hori, Junko Miyama, and others. Urino made his directorial and script writing debut in 1990 with the film Cinderella Express.
Fumio Itabashi (板橋 文夫, Itabashi Fumio; born March 8, 1949 in Tochigi) is a Japanese pianist and composer. Itabashi…Fumio Itabashi (板橋 文夫, Itabashi Fumio; born March 8, 1949 in Tochigi) is a Japanese pianist and composer. Itabashi began playing piano when he was eight years old, and studied music formally at Kunitachi College of Music, where he first started playing jazz. In the 1970s he worked with Terumasa Hino, Takeo Moriyama, and Sadao Watanabe, in addition to leading his own small ensembles. In the 1980s he did several international tours as a sideman with Ray Anderson and Elvin Jones, and in the 1990s worked with Leo Etoh in a traditional Japanese percussion ensemble called Wa Daiko. In addition to his work in jazz, Itabashi also works as a film score composer, and has done soundtracks for Chinese and Japanese motion pictures.
Chiaki Ishii (Japanese: チアキ・イシイ; born 石井 千秋, Ishii Chiaki; 1 October 1941 – 16 October 2026) was a Japanese-born…Chiaki Ishii (Japanese: チアキ・イシイ; born 石井 千秋, Ishii Chiaki; 1 October 1941 – 16 October 2026) was a Japanese-born Brazilian judoka, who won Brazil's first Olympic medal in judo at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.
Masaaki Kaneko (金子正明, Kaneko Masaaki; born July 8, 1940) is a retired Japanese featherweight freestyle wrestler.…Masaaki Kaneko (金子正明, Kaneko Masaaki; born July 8, 1940) is a retired Japanese featherweight freestyle wrestler. Between 1966 and 1968 he won all major titles, including gold medals at two world championships, and at the 1966 Asian and 1968 Olympic Games. He was inducted in the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007.
Koji Hashimoto (橋本 幸治, Hashimoto Kōji; January 21, 1936 – January 9, 2005) was a Japanese film director and producer.…Koji Hashimoto (橋本 幸治, Hashimoto Kōji; January 21, 1936 – January 9, 2005) was a Japanese film director and producer. He directed the 1984 films Sayonara Jupiter and The Return of Godzilla. He died of coronary disease at age 69 while mountain climbing.
Mitsuo Aida (相田みつを, Aida Mitsuo; 20 May 1924 – 17 December 1991) was a Japanese poet and calligrapher known as The Poet…Mitsuo Aida (相田みつを, Aida Mitsuo; 20 May 1924 – 17 December 1991) was a Japanese poet and calligrapher known as The Poet of Zen. His work was influenced by Zen Buddhism and he is known for his works, Ningen damono (Because I'm Human), Okagesan (Our Debt to Others), and Inochi ippai (Live a Full Live).
Kōichirō Asakai (Japanese: 朝海浩一郎; 1906–1995) was a Japanese diplomat who served as ambassador to the United States and…Kōichirō Asakai (Japanese: 朝海浩一郎; 1906–1995) was a Japanese diplomat who served as ambassador to the United States and ambassador to the Philippines. Asakai studied banking and graduated from Hitotsubashi University in 1929, before joining the Foreign Ministry. He was taught English by Edward Gauntlett, an English language teacher from Wales. From 1929 until 1931, he studied law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an attaché to the Japanese Embassy in London, and was posted to Nanjing before returning to the Foreign Ministry. He was bureau chief of the Central Liaison Office from March 1946. During this time, he attended meetings of the Allied Council for Japan as an "observer" and the sole diplomat. In August 1951, he was appointed the first head of the Japanese Government Overseas Agency in London. He was assisted in his work by the Japan Society of London, which had been set up two years prior. In 1956, Asakai was appointed the first post-war Japanese ambassador to the Philippines. In June 1957, he was appointed as the Japanese ambassador to the United States. He left the position in the winter of 1963, and was succeeded by Ryūji Takeuchi.
Yumiko Hara (Japanese: 原裕 美子, Hara Yumiko; born 9 January 1982) is a Japanese marathon runner. She has represented…Yumiko Hara (Japanese: 原裕 美子, Hara Yumiko; born 9 January 1982) is a Japanese marathon runner. She has represented Japan at two World Championships in Athletics and had won marathons in Nagoya, Osaka and Hokkaido.
