Takumi Kurohara (黒原 拓未, Kurohara Takumi; born November 29, 1999, in Kainan, Wakayama, Japan) is a professional Japanese…Takumi Kurohara (黒原 拓未, Kurohara Takumi; born November 29, 1999, in Kainan, Wakayama, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He is a pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Taishin Minamide (南出大伸, Minamide Taishin, born 13 April 1996) is a Japanese marathon swimmer. He competed in the 2020…Taishin Minamide (南出大伸, Minamide Taishin, born 13 April 1996) is a Japanese marathon swimmer. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Masaki Minami (南 昌輝, Minami Masaki) (born January 18, 1989) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher and…Masaki Minami (南 昌輝, Minami Masaki) (born January 18, 1989) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher and current coach for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Yuichi Komano (駒野 友一, Komano Yūichi; born 25 July 1981) is a former Japanese professional footballer who last played as…Yuichi Komano (駒野 友一, Komano Yūichi; born 25 July 1981) is a former Japanese professional footballer who last played as a defender. He played for Japan national team until 2013.
Tadashi Matsuura (Japanese: 松浦忠史; born March 10, 1976), known exclusively by his stage name Kisaki (きさき), is a Japanese…Tadashi Matsuura (Japanese: 松浦忠史; born March 10, 1976), known exclusively by his stage name Kisaki (きさき), is a Japanese musician, record producer and businessman, whose career in the visual kei scene spans more than 30 years. He is best known for having been the bassist of several bands, including La:Sadie's, Mirage, Syndrome, Kisaki Project, and Phantasmagoria. When Phantasmagoria disbanded in 2007, Kisaki announced his retirement as an active musician. However, in 2010, he ended his retirement and formed the band Lin -The End of Corruption World-. Kisaki also works as a record producer, including for his two former visual kei record labels, Matina and Under Code Production. These labels launched the careers of many bands, including Vidoll, The Gazette and 12012. In 2023, Matenrou Opera vocalist Sono stated that the visual kei scene would not be what it is today without Kisaki.
Hitoshi Morishita (森下 仁志, Morishita Hitoshi; born September 21, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager.…Hitoshi Morishita (森下 仁志, Morishita Hitoshi; born September 21, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager. he is the currently assistant manager of J1 League club Tokyo Verdy.
Tochinowaka Kiyotaka (born 22 May 1962 as Kiyotaka Kaseda) is a former sumo wrestler from Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. A…Tochinowaka Kiyotaka (born 22 May 1962 as Kiyotaka Kaseda) is a former sumo wrestler from Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1985, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1987. His highest rank was sekiwake. He was a runner-up in one tournament and earned six special prizes and four kinboshi. After 76 tournaments and 1114 bouts in the top division he retired in 1999. He is now an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and the head coach of Kasugano stable.
Kazufumi Taniguchi (谷口 和史, Taniguchi Kazufumi; born 14 April 1962) is a Japanese politician serving in the House of…Kazufumi Taniguchi (谷口 和史, Taniguchi Kazufumi; born 14 April 1962) is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the New Komeito Party. A native of Wakayama Prefecture and graduate of Soka University he was elected for the first time in 2005.
Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo; IPA: [o̞no̞da̠ çiɾo̞ː]) (19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a…Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo; IPA: [o̞no̞da̠ çiɾo̞ː]) (19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a Japanese soldier who served as a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. One of the last Japanese holdouts, Onoda continued fighting for nearly 29 years after the war's end in 1945, carrying out guerrilla warfare on Lubang Island in the Philippines until 1974. Onoda initially held out with three other soldiers. One surrendered in 1950, and two were killed, one in 1954 and one in 1972. The men did not believe flyers and letters from their families stating that the war was over. They survived on wild fruits, game, and stolen rice, and occasionally engaged in shootouts (using their service rifles) with locals and police. Onoda was contacted in the jungles of Lubang by Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki in 1974 but still refused to surrender until he was formally relieved of duty by his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who flew from Japan to the island to issue the order. Onoda surrendered on 10 March 1974 and received a hero's welcome when he returned to Japan. That year, he wrote and published an autobiography and later moved to Brazil, where he became a cattle rancher. In 1984, Onoda returned to Japan, where he died in 2014 at the age of 91.
Minolta Co., Ltd. (ミノルタ, Minoruta) was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, camera accessories, binoculars…Minolta Co., Ltd. (ミノルタ, Minoruta) was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, camera accessories, binoculars, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten (日独写真機商店; meaning Japanese-German camera shop). In 1931, the company adopted Minolta for their cameras, an acronym for the German phrase "Mechanismus, Instrumente, Optik, und Linsen von Tashima". Between 1937 and 1962 they became known as Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō K.K. (千代田光学精工㈱, meaning Chiyoda Optics and Precision Industry Co., Ltd.) before adopting the Minolta name as their final company iteration. The Minolta 'Rising Sun' logo was designed by Saul Bass in 1981. Minolta made the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system with the Alpha α/Maxxum 7000/AF in 1985. In 2003, Minolta merged with Konica to form Konica Minolta. On 19 January 2006, Konica Minolta announced that it was leaving the camera and photo business, and that it would sell a portion of its SLR camera business to Sony as part of its move to pull completely out of the business of selling cameras and photographic film. Between 2015 and 2016, Konica Minolta lost the rights to the Minolta US trademark for photographic equipment in a trial against JMM Lee Properties LLC, citing Trademark abandonment. Assuming control of several Minolta Trademarks in photographic industries by 2017, JMM Lee began licensing the name to Elite Brands Inc. This is an example of zombie trademarking
Masatoshi Ishida (石田 真敏, Ishida Masatoshi; born 11 April 1952) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party…Masatoshi Ishida (石田 真敏, Ishida Masatoshi; born 11 April 1952) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He served as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications from 2 October 2018 to 11 September 2019. A native of Kainan, Wakayama and graduate of Waseda University, he was elected to the first of his three terms in the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly in 1983 and then to the first of his two terms as mayor of Kainan in 1994. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2002.